Name: Brian Doyle
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Major: Human Services and Social Justice
Year: Junior
Campus Involvement: TedX, House Staff, Colonial Cabinet, Delta Tau Delta, Before I Die Wall, and more…he couldn’t remember everything.
How did you get involved with TedX?
When I was in high school in San Diego, a teacher asked me if I wanted to help with a Ted event and I was like, what’s that? So I watched some Ted Talks and thought it was awesome. I quickly started focusing on gathering speakers for the event, which led to becoming the student leader. Eleven months later, we had an event for 400 people. I was a freshman at GW at the time and it completely changed my life and my perspective. I was in the business school and I just didn’t think I fit really well there, so I ended up switching my major. That event was the starting point that showed me unlimited possibilities of all sorts of things.
Why TedX?
I think from the beginning I was very attached to the Ted foundation because it incorporates event planning with a really powerful purpose. It incorporates teamwork and is such a limitless and trailblazing mentality in the sense that Ted as an organization lends you a little bit of its format and it’s guidelines, but otherwise it’s all you. If you want to go for it, you can. It really has fostered my passion for creativity.
What are your hopes for TedXFoggyBottom?
My whole goal with Ted on this campus is to start a tradition and a legacy. We wanted to gain notoriety from a standpoint that this isn’t for anyone’s personal benefit, we make no money off of this, we really just want to spread ideas and inspiration. So here we are a couple of days before the third TedXFoggybottom which will have over 1,000 people.
You’ve done a TedX event yourself based on your 365 days of thank you project. What was that like?
It was one of the most surreal experiences because the event that I spoke at was one of the first that I organized two years ago. So it really came full circle. For one, I’m a TedX organizer so I’m the one that usually hands the guy the microphone and says “here you go, good luck, you’re going to do great”. Then, in November, it was me freaking out backstage and them saying “don’t worry you’re going to be great”. So it was really cool to see it from that perspective. I was honored and shocked to be asked to speak and doing so was one of the most out of body experiences I’ve had. The Ted journey has been amazing, but it isn’t some end all be all thing for me. Ted has really given me such a fantastic platform to build off of.
What’s been the most surprising or challenging thing about organizing TedXFoggyBottom?
The most challenging thing I think no matter what, is just getting the funds. For Ted specifically, at any event across the world, speakers are never paid to talk, but you pay for their travel and hotel. So you really have to fund raise a lot, and that’s a really big challenge. On the flip side, the most surprising thing in a positive way was seeing how everything took off this year. We’ve had such an incredible amount of support. A lot of our work on the very front end has put us in a spot where we’re becoming known as an event that happens every year on campus, not only from the student perspective but also from a faculty perspective. I think that’s exciting and it’s been surprising.
My fun story is that when I was a freshman at CI, during the opening ceremony, I was doodling a sketch of what a Ted stage would look like in Lisner auditorium. It was kind of a dream of mine from the second I stepped into that auditorium. Here we are with a TedX at GW being held there in a couple of days so it’s really full circle for me.
What has been your favorite moment so far?
I’ll definitely say that my favorite moment will be Friday when it all comes together. A favorite moment is definitely seeing our team come together to rally so hard around such a great cause and motive and dream. Some other favorite moments have been seeing some of the speakers we have being so excited about their talks.
How can people get involved either in the student org or on Friday at the event?
If someone is attending on Friday, my wish is for them to be as engaged as possible. Speakers and all the other attendees are there to talk to. I think a misconception is that the event is totally students, and not only are 19 of our 21 speakers not students, but also if you look at our attendees we have a ton of different people. As far as the student org, within a week or two we’re going to have applications on our website. We want to get a close-knit group to start work on next year’s event. It’s one amazing community. To be part of the TedX family I feel like I’ve found my niche and my community.
What can people expect on Friday?
It’s unlike anything we’ve really had on this campus. How often do we have a speaker on campus that leaves the auditorium before you’ve even gotten out of your seat and then they’re gone and you can’t speak to them? All the speakers are there the full day to talk to you. I think you can expect an incredible day of different ideas. It isn’t just one lecture, it’s literally 21 different ideas and concepts and projects that you’re going to be hearing about. There’s gonna be a few quirky things that we’re going to have. It isn’t just about what’s happening on the main stage. We’re going to have some 3D art installations as well as things involving photography and some more interactive stuff that causes you to be more introspective as well. I would just expect something different.
What does the future hold for you next year when you graduate, with or without TedX?
I’ve thought a lot about that question recently, I think as most juniors and seniors do. What I’ve realized is I like the unknown and the unexpected adventures of my future in the sense that I’m excited to not know what’s happening in the next few months. I like going from project to project. I don’t have any specific dream job, and I like that. I don’t think it’s appropriate to plan for one job in life when tomorrow the worst could happen, or the best could happen. I just think you have to take every day as a new day. In terms of planning, I’m planning for the unknown in the most exciting way possible.
What’s your favorite quote/mantra?
There’s a lot, but what came to mind instantly when you asked was a quote from JK Rowling’s commencement speech at Harvard. It’s featured on Ted.com but it isn’t necessarily a Ted Talk. She basically said it is impossible to live without failing unless you live so cautiously that you never lived at all. In which case, you fail by default. I mean she said that with her British accent, which makes all the difference, but I think a lot of us, including myself are constantly afraid of failure. And we’re afraid to reach out and try something new because what if failure happens? What I’ve learned through TedX, and pretty much everything I’ve done, is if it fails, it fails, and you just move on. That quote, that mantra, sticks with me as “just go for it”.