Let’s Talk, Thursday’s religious discussion forum led by senior Jay Schlaegel along with seniors Shahir Ahmed and Roshni Parikh, sparked discussions over varying religions and beliefs throughout the school and community.

“Last night exceeded my expectations in more ways than I can imagine, that I could have imagined,” Schlaegel said. “I think that people bought into the vision and our purpose of starting conversations about things that are difficult to talk about was achieved.”

The event was created by Schlaegel, studying Christian ministry, as a final product for the school’s Independent Study and Mentorship program to show how people of different faiths can come together to share values and customs.

“I think [last night] went very well, I was very proud of the three that were on stage as well as the emcee, all the volunteers that came together that helped make it happen,” ISM director Brian Wysong said. “I feel like it was courageous for them to do that, speak about our faith.”

Adults and teachers from all over the Frisco and Plano communities, as well as students from across the district, attended the event, furthering the emphasis on diversifying crowds.

“It was incredible, I mean just as I am sitting here listening to some of the adults and listening to what they have to say, they hit the mark with what the purpose of the event was,” Principal Scott Warstler said. “Great turnout, stellar job.”

The event, spurred by the diversity on campus, sought to bring together the three major religions that have campus organizations: Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. Hearing students talk about these three religions was just a small part of representing how many different personalities and beliefs run around campus.

“I talk all the time about how proud I am to be principal here because our diversity is what makes Liberty, Liberty. You can go out into the cafeteria, into the hallways and see our students interact the way they do, this is normal for us,” Warstler said. “The cool thing is we’re trying to take what’s normal in our world, what’s normal for 16, 17, 18-year-olds, to show adults in our community how to understand the way kids do.”

Ahmed spoke as a representative of the school’s Muslim Student Association, informing the audience of Islamic religious traditions and answering questions on misconceptions and media perspectives.

“Before this event, I was extremely nervous and worried that I would be stuttering, sweating and that I wouldn’t be able to properly express what Islam is,” Ahmed said. “But as soon as I got on stage and sat next to Jay and Roshni, I realized how important this event was and everything went smoothly.”

For Ahmed, Let’s Talk served as an important step in creating future discussions on religious views throughout campus.

“I really feel the benefit of this event shined through tonight,” Ahmed said. “I’m extremely happy right now, so incredibly happy, seeing not just the audience’s reactions, but having people come up to me after the event and asking questions, it’s amazing that we started this event. It’s important for us to continue on and encourage these sorts of discussions.”