TEDxUVA held its third annual student speaker competition Tuesday at Boylan Heights. The competition gave students a chance speak in front of their peers about topics that interest them.
Several TEDxUVA committees selected the student speakers and publicized and financed the event, TEDxUVA co-curator and third-year College student Lauren Jackson said.
TED Talks deliver clear, innovative and deliverable concepts that present more than introductory knowledge and research, but rather have the potential to change the way attendees think, Jackson said.
“[A TED Talk] is a call to action for other people to apply that insight to make a difference in their daily life,” Jackson said. “It is something that they can present to a community that will cause actual change or shift paradigms and ways of thinking.”
Public health graduate student Claire Constance discussed in her TED Talk the importance of providing women with accurate information about breast cancer screening and mammography.
“Breast cancer screening is a very overlooked feminist issue, especially mammograms,” Constance said. “It brings up the interesting question of who is really governing a woman’s body in our healthcare system. Women deserve to have total evidence and total information and be able to make their own decisions.”
This event allowed people to step away from their specific area of study and experience different ideas, Constance said.
“This is a great time to try to reconnect with other parts and fields and students and get to understand what other people think,” Constance said.
Second-year Engineering student Jack Ross spoke about his experience with success in the business world. His message to potential entrepreneurs was that the key to their success is finding something they are passionate about and developing it with people they trust.
“This is the first time that I’ve shared not only the success I’ve had but also the failure,” Ross said. “Being able to tell that story is relieving, and I think it will help people avoid some of those mistakes I’ve made.”
The TED Talks provided a forum to share thought and ideas, which is a core principle of the University, Ross said.
“Events like this help you share what you’ve been working on and talk about it,” Ross said. “Every talk today was so different — there was truly a great diversity,”
Following the talks, attendees cast votes for their favorite speakers. The winner will earn a spot to speak at the TEDxUVA conference in February.
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