Name: Kush R. Nayak
Graduation year: 2017
Hometown: Mason, OH
Majors/minors: Marketing major and Finance minor
Activities involved in: Innovation Society, TEDx, International Business Club, Marketing Club, FMA, New England Patriots and swimming… as well as occasional photoshopper.
First of all, what is TEDxXavierUniversity in your own words?
TEDxXavierUniversity is student-led event with the goal to bring community leaders in and tell their stories. Our mission is to inspire conversations and tangible action within our own community.
What do you do to help the event and the Innovation Society, the club that puts on TEDx?
My primary role with the Innovation Society is to raise funds and maintain our budget. Every year we reach out to a select group of companies that are active within the community and we feel best aligns with our university/clubs as well as TED’s values.
Is financing such a large event difficult? What do you like about it?
There are a lot of moving parts within the event so we have to budget everything from the audio/visual costs of recording the talks to the lanyards we hand out to all the audience members. I enjoy the challenge of reaching out to companies and balancing cost effectiveness with quality. At the end day, seeing all the of team’s hard work come together and put on an event that the community enjoys is the best reward.
How have you used what you’ve learned in your business classes in your role in Innovation Society? What do you think XU could have taught you that would have helped you better prepare for the role?
My business classes have taught me how to manage my time in order to get my tasks in an efficient manner and (still improving) be an all-around thinker. Meaning to challenge the old ways of doing things and try something different. The best way to learn is to dive in headfirst and get the experience and learn everything you can. I am grateful to XU and Innovation Society for giving me that opportunity.