About 100 Boston University students gathered Saturday at BU Central in the George Sherman Union for the first annual TEDxBU series of talks, which centered on a singular theme — “Spark.”
Eleven students, alumni and other professionals spoke from experience and addressed topics such as individual identity, community, empowerment and education. Videos and breakout sessions gave attendees the opportunity to talk about the subject areas.
“Inspiration has struck here at BU, and perhaps it will strike again. After all, there is something about the idea of BU. There’s something about this place,” said Daryl Healea, associate director of residence life for student and staff development, in his opening remarks.
Ani Sanyal, a musician who started who started his own record label when he was 18 years old, said music helped him explore his identify and find a sense of purpose.
“Music taught me that, though I was different, I wasn’t alone, and more importantly, that my story mattered,” he said in his talk. “To me, the music allowed me to share my story and perspective with people who were going through similar struggles finding their identity, belonging, success and their footing in the world. I had found my voice, but more importantly, I had found my purpose.”
Coordinators Salma Yehia, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Ben Lawson, a sophomore in CAS, selected audience members through an application process that included a few short answer questions about students’ passions and interests.
“We received over 300 responses, and me and Ben read each and every one and judged it on three criteria, totaled the scores and averaged our scores to make sure it was really fair. Then we selected the top 100 scores,” Yehia said. “The stories that were shared and the spark that people had were absolutely amazing. It was beautiful to see how other people were inspired by each other.”
Students who were not accepted for the live audience could watch the talks via live stream in the GSU Backcourt.
Christian Cho, an educator interested in social issues and student engagement, talked about the difficulty he has faced being a gay Korean man and how he came to terms with his identity.
“Learning to live authentically is a perpetual struggle,” he said in his talk. “It’s helpful for us to surround ourselves with people who allow us to be fully ourselves, but how do you find those people when you don’t even know who you are?”
Margie Dillenburg, one of the speakers, served as Chief Operations Officer of the Invisible Children foundation and helped make the 2006 documentary “Invisible Children: Rough Cut,” which details the experience of child soldiers in central Africa. She spoke about the importance of empathy in nonprofit causes and described how emotion can help encourage supporters to get involved.
“Just like the Grinch, his heart wasn’t allowed to grow until he was allowed to act, and I think supporting millennials in their heart activation is going to … be the spark that actually makes you guys the most empathic generation to ever walk the earth,” she said.
Matthew Dicks, an author and former teacher, said passionate teachers are the ones who “change lives,” not a curriculum.
“I’d find the person who is passionate about anything,” he said. “I would make sure that they are audacious, and daring, and different and perhaps a little bit crazy. Those are the people I would want teaching my children, and that’s the person that I try to be when I’m teaching my students.”
Yehia said she is glad the conference was successful and looks forward to developing it more for next year.
“We organized this event knowing it’s not just for this year,” she said. “Actually, we are trying to become a student group next year and develop monthly events that happen on a smaller scale but have the same effect … It’s student empowerment and finding yourself in the community, and that’s what we are trying to do. Build a community.”
Several attendees said they liked the role students had in orchestrating the event.
“It’s intended for students, as students are the next generation, and that’s why we’re here, and it makes the event more tailored to its audience,” said Kimberly Lu, a junior in CAS. “It’s amazing that they have all these volunteers and speakers willing to come here, and are so willing to speak to this audience in this setting. It makes the experience all the more valuable.”
Aaraf Afzal, one of 30 student volunteers, said he was eager to help organize and run the talks.
“I wanted to get involved because I’ve seen TED talks online before, so I thought it would be cool to see it in action,” said Afzal, a freshman in CAS. “The theme is important, as it’s important for people to follow their passions, and we have some passionate speakers who know what they’re talking about.”
Brian Koh, a sophomore in the Questrom School of Business, said he looks forward to the legacy he hopes the series of talks creates.
“There’s only so much just watching the TED videos can do, so I wanted to experience it for real, and so far, I’ve been so impressed by everything,” he said. “It’s a really well-organized event and a learning experience for all those involved. I hope it grows into the years and becomes a notable event for more and more BU students to enjoy.”
