In an effort to “ignite” conversation, seven speakers, including a former CIA agent, a video game-industry based animation director and a Binghamton University undergraduate, spoke at the TEDxBinghamtonUniversity talks on Sunday afternoon.
“Ignite,” the theme of this year’s talks, was chosen by the student directors under the supervision of their advisor, Betsy Staff. Staff, associate director of new student programs at BU, said the topic was an important part of kindling new ideas.
“The theme of ‘Ignite’ is reflective in the Binghamton University student culture by representing the drive and passion our student body has for change and making a difference,” Staff said.
The annual event, held in the Anderson Center, drew an audience of approximately 700 students, faculty and community members, according to the TEDx student directors. Each year, student directors compile a list of potential speakers in June and eventually narrow them down to seven individuals.
According to Bridget Shanley, a student director for TEDxBinghamtonUniversity and a junior majoring in English, this year’s speakers come with diverse backgrounds, experiences and interests.
“This year, our speakers themselves don’t have much in common,” Shanley wrote in an email. “And I think that’s important; they’re all from completely different lives, and they all have something different for the event.”
Brendan Geen, a student director for TEDxBinghamtonUniversity and a senior majoring in business administration, said the event is always unique because it allows the audience to interact with speakers and their ideas.
“We get to put students and community members right in the seat,” Geen said. “Our speakers lead change throughout the world, so to see them talking about what they’re trying to accomplish puts that thinking into the listener as well.”
Speakers such as Andrew Foley, developmental director of Better Days Greece, Sunil Thankamushy, an animation director and creative executive and Michele Rigby Assad, a former undercover intelligence officer for the CIA, discussed their careers, life experiences and discoveries about the world. Komal Dadlani, a biochemist and the creator of Lab4U, introduced a new way to do scientific experiments without fancy lab equipment in her talk, “Democratizing Science with a Lab in Your Pocket.”
“Talent is universal, but opportunity is not,” Dadlani said. “Good intentions are not good enough to change and solve the world’s biggest problems.”
Xiaoke Jia, a junior majoring in theatre, said the variety of professions and devotions among the speakers was important to show the theme from different perspectives.
“We have different backgrounds and experiences,” Jia said. “That’s where different ideas come from. Listening to these talks is just eye-opening.”
Other students also came to support BU student Jonathan Caputo, a junior triple-majoring in psychology, philosophy and Italian. Caputo, who was chosen by the event’s directors to be the 2019 TEDxBinghamtonUniversity student speaker, challenged the audience to consider how and why we self-love and how this affects our mental health and happiness.
John Cusker, a sophomore double-majoring in history and philosophy, politics and law, said by including Caputo in the lineup, the event fostered a strengthened sense of community.
“A BU student got to speak to us, which was really cool,” Cusker said. “Having someone from the school talk to us made it more personal.”
Staff said she hoped the differences among the speakers would allow audience members to hear an original idea that could spark conversation and inspiration at an individual and social level.
“Not all seven speakers will ignite every attendee, but we hope that when you leave, one of them will be having you say, ‘Wow, I never thought of that,’” Staff said.
Check out Pipe Dream’s profiles on this year’s TEDxBinghamtonUniversity speakers:
— Jonathan Caputo, a Binghamton University junior triple-majoring in psychology, philosophy and Italian
— Kate Hagen, a writer and director of community at The Black List
— Sunil Thankamushy, an animation director and creative executive in the video game industry
— Andrew Foley, development director of Better Days Greece
— Michele Rigby Assad, a former CIA undercover intelligence officer
— Peter Guttman, ’76, an author, photographer, adventurer and lecturer
— Komal Dadlani, a biochemist and co-founder of Lab4U