On Saturday April 11th, Palmer auditorium was filled with many students, parents, faculty, staff, and members of the community for TedXConnecticut college’s fourth annual TEDxConnecticutCollege conference. The conference included 14 different speakers whose talks connected to the theme of the conference, “Genius Loves Company” in some way or another.
The Conferences 14 different speakers included:
OFF CAMPUS
Jerry Davis – Producer of Robots + Epic, among other films
Onassis Parungao – Martial Arts Professional
Bruce Elfstrom – Biologist, outdoorsman, and explorer
Robert Safian – Editor and Director of Fast Company business magazine
David Rau – Education Director of the Florence Griswold Museum
Bill Conway – Film and TV Writer
Sonia Magano – Clark Lane Middle School
The Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, Connecticut College Partnership
FACULTY/STAFF
Christopher Steiner
David Kim
Stephen Hallquist
STUDENTS
Ali Rice
Walker Cammack
Ramzi Kaiss
The day started out with a talk titled “ The World Through Open Eyes” by Sonia Magano, a seventh grader at Clark Lane Middle School in Waterford, CT. Magano spoke about the stereotyping of different cultures and the importance of being culturally aware. We were blown away by Magano’s confidence and the ease with which she spoke.
The conference continued on with speakers from all different fields. Another speaker whose talk was very interesting was Bill Conway, a writer and producer who has written for various television shows including Miami Vice. In his talk, Conway described what it was it is like to be a film and TV writer and some of the challenges that he has faced. Not only did we find it fascinating and awesome that he had helped write and produce a popular American TV show, but also that Conn was able to get such an influential person in the entertainment industry like him to come to our campus.
In addition to Magano, Conway, and all the other speakers, another interesting talk included “Conflicted about Conflict,” by Ramzi Kaiss ’17.
In his talk, Kaiss’17 spoke about the role the media plays and has played in revealing news about conflicts as well as briefly included a short story of what it was like living in his home country of Lebanon during conflict and the role the media played during those conflicts. In the end, Kaiss ’17 stressed that we as members of society have the responsibility to follow up on conflict.
Overall, we thought the event was very successful and enjoyable to attend. Good food, the opportunity to meet new people, hear interesting talks… we couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend a Saturday. We strongly recommend that if you didn’t have the chance to attend the conference last week that you attend next year!
For more information about the speakers and TedXConnecticut College: