Behind the Scenes of TEDx

I love discussion & collaboration & innovation, and I have often been labeled as an ambitious freshman, so when I heard that there was an opportunity to be a part of the university’s independently run TED Talk event (x=independently organized TED event) I couldn’t resist applying to be the Finance Chair of the Steering Committee.

I was Co-Finance Chair for about 2 months, until the junior who, unlike me, knew how to fulfill the finance chair responsibilities dropped, and left me solo. Thankfully, I had the TEDx co-presidents available to help me along the way as I reached out to potential sponsors to fund the event in April, and kept track of our balances on an Excel spreadsheet.

By being accountable for the financial aspect of this program, I learned a lot about keeping it positive & professional, asking questions, and staying organized. I will never forget the feeling of accountability, and trust, I received when the other committee chairs emailed me directly, and relied on me to update the budget with their expenses. Yes — that was my job, but wow, did I feel like one cool freshman.

One of the challenges was working with the official TED talk regulations, and making sure we weren’t breaking any rules. Next year, I hope that more students attend our event, as it is a phenomenal hour long presentation, and a great opportunity to gain exposure on pressing issues on both a national, and international level.

William & Mary TEDx has not been around for long, but I plan to stick with it for all four years. It is a great opportunity to bring new ideas to campus, and I really enjoyed the powerful, goosebumps-worthy questions that the speakers posed. Consider applying to be a part of our Steering Committee as we plan TEDx 2018, or volunteer with us in April!