In the spirit of sharing ideas worth spreading, Wesleyan students hosted the third annual TEDxWesleyanU conference on April 16–17.
Titled “(Un)Knowing,” the event’s speakers included:
Alford Young Jr. ’88, professor of sociology, Afroamerican and African studies, and public policy at the University of Michigan
Field Yates ’09, NFL Insider for ESPN and co-host of “Fantasy Football”
Emily McEvoy ’22, College of Social Studies major, 2021 Student Speaker Competition Winner, and Middletown Mutual Aid organizer
Gato Nsengamungu ’23, physics and government double major from Rwanda
Doug Berman ’84, two-time Peabody Award-winning producer of NPR’s “Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me!” and “Car Talk”
Rob King ’84, senior vice president and editor-at-large for ESPN content
Candace Nelson ’96, entrepreneur, pastry chef, TV personality, and New York Times best-selling author
Pablo Wickham ’21, neuroscience and theater double major, 2021 Student Speaker Competition Winner and 2021 Jamaican Rhodes Scholar
Abby Govindan, standup comedian and writer
The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are organized by campus sponsors.
In addition to the nine speakers, the conference featured a virtual scavenger hunt, informational break-out sessions, musical interludes, and a Wesleyan Student Band Music Festival.
“We hope that these talks will not only spark a new idea for you or offer a fresh perspective, but will inspire you to embrace the liminal process of ‘unknowing’ at Wesleyan,” said Catherine Cheng ’22, 2021 TedxWesleyanU licensee.
The 2021 TEDxWesleyanU team includes Catherine Cheng ’22, Shayla Zhen ’23, Mohona Yesmin ’23, Beyza Koc ’24, Sara Greene ’23, Sanni Zhang ’22, Rachel Liu ’22, Shweta Kondapi ’24, Mason Martell ’24, Izzy Durcan ’22, Grace Higgins ’24, Bryan Do ’24, Ishani Dave ’24, Maya Verghese ’23, Alejandra Sanchez ’22, Will Wallentine ’23; Payal Sreewastav ’23, Gavin Willis ’21, Natalie Selfe ’22, Rae Sustana ’24, Michael Tang ’22, Biren Pramanik ’24, and Serena Landers ’24.
Recordings of the speakers will be available at a later time.