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TEDx returns to Ithaca College
Ten speakers talked around the theme "Empowerment" at conference
Eden Strachan '21, journalist, filmmaker and former Ithaca College Park Scholar, spoke about Black representation in coming-of-age movies in her talk titled "Who Gets to be the Girl Next Door?" (Photo by Caroline Grass/Ithaca College)
By Caroline Grass
October 24, 2022
Ithaca College's third TEDx conference brought the campus community together on October 22, 2022, in Emerson Suites as students, professors and community members listened to ten TED Talks.
TED, standing for Technology, Entertainment and Design, is a nonprofit organization which started in1984. TED aims to give speakers a platform to share “ideas worth spreading.” The x in TEDx means the event is independently organized and over 3000 community based TEDx conferences are held every year.
Due to TEDx regulations, 100 people were allowed to sign up for the free in-person seats, but the 643 people viewed the livestream and the club hosted a watch party in Park Hall for anyone interested who did not reserve a ticket.
The college organized its first TEDx in 2014 and held a second event in 2017. A third event was scheduled for March of 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the conference to be cancelled.
The current executive board of the club, TEDx Ithaca College, re-recognized the organization with the Office of Student Engagement last year. The club advertised for the event, recruited and vetted speakers and worked with a live event coverage class to film and host a livestream of the event.
Speakers included professors at the college, alumni and a current student. The talks could be about anything the speaker wanted that revolved around the theme of empowerment.
Junior Camille Brock, president of TEDx Ithaca College, spoke about how she felt the day had gone so far during the intermission and explained why she felt holding a conference like this was important for the college.
The conference was held in Emerson Suites and attendees had the opportunity to talk with each other and speakers during the lunch break. (Photos by Caroline Grass/Ithaca College)
Dominic Cottone '00, senior managing director and co-founder of Ferguson Partners Leadership Consulting, talked about how important it is for people to change their mindset around success by not forming one’s entire identity and idea of self-worth around their profession.
He finished his presentation by reflecting on his youth and talked about what he would say to his younger self, saying that speaking at this TEDx event was a full-circle moment for him.