Embark: TEDxGeorgiaTech 2020 Speaker Salon
On Thursday, November 12, TEDxGeorgiaTech (TEDxGT) presented Embark, their 2020 Student Speaker Salon featuring four hand-selected Georgia Tech students. TEDxGT is a student-run organization led by a group of innovative, enthusiastic, technologically minded individuals striving to help the Georgia Tech community embrace “ideas worth spreading.” As TEDxGT’s venue and technology partner, Tech Square ATL (TSQATL) Social Club helped bring this event online so it could be livestreamed and allow for people across the country to tune in from the comfort of their homes.
When the TEDxGT executive team chose this year’s theme, they wanted to choose one that would encompass the challenges many of us have faced over the past few months since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Ultimately, they decided on the word embark. The team felt that this word not only captured the uncertainty and danger of the pandemic, but also the sense of adventure and wonder of exploring new possibilities that it has brought upon our collective experience.
“To me, embark means [that even though] we may not be ready for the task or adventure [at hand], we’re going to get it done, ” shared Rajan Jayasankar, TEDxGT Executive Director. In his opening acknowledgements, he gave recognition to the team and the featured speakers (one who presented his TEDxGT talk remotely from the state of Virginia), who banded together safely and from a distance to organize this livestream event in the midst of all the challenges they faced.
TEDxGT: Embark Student Salon Speakers
“4th Dimension for Dummies” by Kiandra Peart
“I might be underqualified on paper, but, what I'm going to talk about does not require a degree to understand. All it requires is one severely obsessed student to explain it to you. And lucky for all of you, that’s me.”
— Kiandra Peart, second-year Mechanical Engineering student at Georgia Tech
“The Certainty of Uncertainty: How Knowledge is Power” by Dennis Goldenberg
“Merriam-Webster defines uncertainty as a ‘lack of sureness about someone or something.’ Here would be my definition [of uncertainty]: the foundation of human motivation.”
— Dennis Goldenberg, second-year Mathematics student at Georgia Tech
“How a Global Pandemic Helped Me Start My YouTube Channel” by Sajjaad Khader
“I wanted to break myself out of this monotonous cycle and explore something I hadn't really made time for before: my creativity. I had a few reservations about it. But I decided to let these thoughts subside.”
— Sajjaad Khader, first-year Computer Science student at Georgia Tech
“Making Purpose” by David Espinal
“If you trust that there is meaning, good — find it. But if you don't [think there is meaning] — MAKE it. MAKE purpose. Either way, there can be an answer.”
— David Espinal, fourth-year Biomedical Engineering student at Georgia Tech
Did you miss this livestreamed event? TEDx Talks will be publishing these TEDxGT presentations in their official YouTube channel. Subscribe to their YouTube channel to get notified when these talks go live on their platform.
What does the word embark mean to you? Let us know in the comments below.
DID YOU KNOW?
TED began in 1984 as a conference. Today, TED Talks cover topics beyond technology, entertainment, and design in more than 100 languages. TEDx is a grassroots initiative that helps share ideas in communities around the world.