By Diana Morose
The independently organized TED event centered around the theme of reimagining our realities. The event was held March 21 in the David Brinkley Studio and was hosted by Kevian Lewis, a senior majoring in communications and media studies. Seven guest speakers spoke on what can be done to better our futures.
Stephanie Sylvestre – The Unseen Revolution: Generative AI's Impact on Marginalized Communities
Sylvestre opened with a talk centered on the benefits generative AI can have on marginalized communities including helping to increase efficiency and lighten the workload. She is the co-founder of Avatar Buddy, a Miami startup focused on using AI technology to help teenagers and employees develop their skills.
Tim McCarthy – 4-Dimensional Parenting
McCarthy’s master’s degree in education and his years researching developmental psychology bestow him his unique view on parenting. Western and Eastern philosophies surrounding education shape his views on how we can raise more well-balanced children from an early age with healthy eating and devotion to motor skills.
Tesha Allison – Me, Why Not? The Possibilities of a Future Reimagined
Allison followed up with a deeply personal story about her life and the possibilities of a future re-imagined. She was born in Jamaica and spoke on how her family was exceptionally poor, having lived in an abandoned bakery. While recounting becoming pregnant and a 14-year-old high school dropout, Allison took the audience on a journey that encouraged growth by bold actions with self-empowerment and resilience.
Michelle Singh – It Takes a Community to Raise a Classroom
Singh’s talk centered on education and spoke about the ways we all can raise classrooms of the new generation by telling our diverse stories with the curriculum and by connecting our network with students to better engage them in the learning process. She is the CEO of LCT-E Learning Solutions and founder of Restful Teacher.
Hunter Thompson – One Mindful Moment
Thompson is a Barry senior majoring in finance, member of the Student Managed Investment Fund, athlete in the men’s golf team, and a life coach for the Vous Church in Miami. His talk focused on mindfulness and being more present in your moment instead of focusing too much on the past or future.
Siedah Kelecia Njaka – Redefining Your Journey: Choosing a Different Path to Get to the Same Destination
Njaka is a writer and the General Legal Counsel at Anchor QEA. Prior to becoming a lawyer, she worked as a flight attendant. Her talk focused on not always going down the conventional route. She emphasized the importance of innovative thinking and paving your own way in life to get to where you want to be.
Matt DeLong – Bouncing Back, the Journey to Dream Again
DeLong is an American stock trader, author, and entrepreneur. Committed to education, his hope is to revolutionize the education system with real-life training to better lives. He talked about mastering the art of focus by letting go of past mistakes and hurt to instead focus on the future.
Deavion Seisay, a Barry graduate student in business administration, felt personally connected to the speakers.
“They made me think of how people were going through things that you may not even know, and there's people who also have struggled and gone through a lot of different life changes,” she said.
Seisay’s favorite speaker was Thompson.
“I feel like he connected well with a lot of college students... Me personally, I feel like I'm always on ‘go.’ Never stopping to breathe, like I never am in the moment, so I feel like that was a good moment to actually stop and really think,” she said.
You can watch a recording of the Department of Communications production of TEDxBarryU on their YouTube channel at BTV Channel 14.