Last school year, Rohan Walawalkar, currently a junior majoring in pre-med anthropology, founded TEDxTrinityUniversity, as a way to keep Trinity students interested in learning broader knowledge.
“Often what I see happening is that people come in excited during their first semester,” Walawalkar said. "But as the semester goes on, they start losing sight of the bigger picture.” TEDxTrinityUniveristy thus became one of the many international branches of TEDx talks.
TEDx is an offshoot of TED Conferences, the famous media organization that hosts various speeches covering a variety of topics, including science, politics, culture, and art. Unlike TED Conferences, TEDx events are hosted independently by anyone who applies for a license and agrees to follow certain guidelines.
TEDxTrinityUniversity hosted their second annual event, “Agents of Change,” on March 23, which featured a wide range of topics and speakers. Nia Clements, a freshman at Trinity, talked about cancer research. Trinity physics professor Dennis Ugolini discussed gravitational waves. Michael Taylor, a finance columnist for San Antonio Express News, revealed the connections between the Wall Street and financial media. Kenny Wilson, the CEO of Haven for Hope homeless shelter in San Antonio, advocated for fight against homelessness, plus several other speakers.
Many have responded favorably to TEDxTrinityUniversity, but being only one year old, the organization still has a lot of room to grow and gain visibility, as many people don't seem to know about them, resulting in relatively small attendance. “I felt like there weren’t that many in the audience as I would have liked to be there,” said Lauren Johnson, who attended this year's event.
However, the organization has been evolving. Their first event, held in April 2018, had only prerecorded TED talks. This year, they were able to host live speeches at Chapman Auditorium. It attracted approximately 125 attendees, in comparison with about 30 people the year before, according to TEDxTrinity’s financial director Devon Patel. Walawalkar considers this to be a success, but believes they should expand their reach even further. Eventually, he wants to fill up every seat in the Laurie Auditorium, the biggest venue on Trinity campus, according to Andrea Cruz, TEDxTrinity’s operations and marketing director.
TEDxTrinity is planning new events beside just one big talk each year, including “salon events,” expected to launch next year. Salon events are smaller events occurring throughout the year that focus on specific topics. “We think that will really gauge people’s interest,” said Cruz. These “TEDxTrinity Salon” can be about food, neuroscience, or biology, Cruz added.
 |
| Rohan Walawalkar (photo courtesy of TEDxTrinity) |
Many have responded favorably to TEDxTrinityUniversity, but being only one year old, the organization still has a lot of room to grow and gain visibility, as many people don't seem to know about them, resulting in relatively small attendance. “I felt like there weren’t that many in the audience as I would have liked to be there,” said Lauren Johnson, who attended this year's event.
 |
| Devon Patel (photo courtesy of TEDxTrinity) |
TEDxTrinity is planning new events beside just one big talk each year, including “salon events,” expected to launch next year. Salon events are smaller events occurring throughout the year that focus on specific topics. “We think that will really gauge people’s interest,” said Cruz. These “TEDxTrinity Salon” can be about food, neuroscience, or biology, Cruz added.
By having these kinds of events, TEDxTrinity hopes to attract people who only want to hear talks about the topics that interest them. Johnson, the audience member, agreed. “I actually really wanted to hear Dr. Ugolini’s speech because I’ve heard he’s a really great professor, so that was why I wanted to go,” said Johnson. “I think the TEDx events are great, and I hope that more people go in the future because it’s really cool just to hear the different professors speak.”
Besides covering a variety of different topics, Walawalkar and his team hope to also include various opinions at their events. Isaiah Mitchell, one of the speakers at this year’s event, was chosen in part for this reason. Mitchell, a junior and English major at Trinity University, has developed a reputation of being a hardline and outspoken conservative on campus.
Besides covering a variety of different topics, Walawalkar and his team hope to also include various opinions at their events. Isaiah Mitchell, one of the speakers at this year’s event, was chosen in part for this reason. Mitchell, a junior and English major at Trinity University, has developed a reputation of being a hardline and outspoken conservative on campus.
“Rohan wanted a greater variety of perspectives, and asked me to give him some names of conservatives who could speak at the event,” said Mitchell. “After I gave him a few names, Rohan just asked me to do it.” Mitchell gave a speech about how his English studies helped him realize that people are like books, and should be treated as if one were to read them.
Not only must TEDxTrinity try to acquire more attendees, they must also acquire numerous sponsors to help make the events happen. The organization mostly relies on donations for funding. “We got some money from the SGA,” said Patel, the finance director. “We also did get donations from various departments on campus for our last event, and some outside organizations like a law office, and even some food donations.”
However, the fundraising is not easy. “I've personally contacted over 25 companies, and to no avail,” said Patel. Part of the difficulty is due to lack of designation as a non-profit organization, said Patel.
“Generally speaking, our goal is to really increase the university awareness of our organization so that more people can come,” said Cruz. “For our main TEDxTrinity event, we definitely want more than 150 people.”
Not only must TEDxTrinity try to acquire more attendees, they must also acquire numerous sponsors to help make the events happen. The organization mostly relies on donations for funding. “We got some money from the SGA,” said Patel, the finance director. “We also did get donations from various departments on campus for our last event, and some outside organizations like a law office, and even some food donations.”
 |
| Andrea Cruz (photo by Luke Dias) |
However, the fundraising is not easy. “I've personally contacted over 25 companies, and to no avail,” said Patel. Part of the difficulty is due to lack of designation as a non-profit organization, said Patel.
“Generally speaking, our goal is to really increase the university awareness of our organization so that more people can come,” said Cruz. “For our main TEDxTrinity event, we definitely want more than 150 people.”
By the time they reach the goal, Walawalkar might have already graduated. “Coming up on my senior year, my main goal is to find someone who is willing to take the creative license,” said Walawalkar. “And being president of really any organization is a big responsibility, not just in that you have to manage a whole team, but you have to have a vision and try to carry it out.”
For now, the team remains focused on its objective to make various topics of education fun for college students, and to host their next annual event.
For now, the team remains focused on its objective to make various topics of education fun for college students, and to host their next annual event.
No comments:
Post a Comment