TEDxPSU to Hold Their Annual “5 Days of TED”

Brought to Penn State’s community in 2010, TEDxPSU has worked to “bring together innovative and thought provoking individuals from the surrounding community and the world to share ideas worth spreading.” And this year, TEDxPSU is back with their annual event, “5 Days of TED,” which will feature their first ever, “Student Speaking Competition.”

This year, four speakers will compete on Tuesday, November 1, in the competition to, “showcase stand-out students who want to share an idea worth spreading,'” says Skylar Yuen, director for TEDxPSU. The student speakers selected to compete are Chris Covert, Nikhil Bharadwaj, Cecilia McGough and Brian Davis and topics will range from social justice to mental health.

The student competition all leads up to one student getting selected to present his/her talk at the main TEDxPSU Conference in February 2017.

“We received a lot of very qualified applications, but ultimately narrowed it down to the students with the best ideas that fit into our theme (to be announced at our reveal on Nov. 4). The four undergraduate students we chose are exceptional students and extremely involved in various organizations around campus,” says Yuen.

The Penn State community is invited to attend this first-ever event, which will be held in Heritage Hall of the HUB from 5 to 8:30 p.m. this Tuesday.

Yuen says that, “The most rewarding thing about this competition is giving students a voice to share their experiences and ideas with Penn State and eventually a larger audience. I’m looking forward to seeing them on stage and seeing the audience reactions.”

Aside from Tuesday’s competition, TEDxPSU has a week of events to look forward to.

Today, Monday, October 31, TEDxPSU is presenting an event titled, “I VoTED” which will showcase a debate between the College Democrats and Republicans and will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the ground floor of the HUB-Robeson Center. There will also be an interactive mural where students can “vote” for their party by painting their hand and placing it on the mural.

On day three of the “5 days of TED,” the Penn State community can check out TED’s pop-up booth on campus to learn more about TEDxPSU.

Day four, titled “TED Trends,” will feature a fashion show and musical performance in partnership with HANALYFE Clothing and a local band. It will take place from noon to 3 p.m. on the HUB Stage.

On the last day, the TEDxPSU theme and logo will be revealed for 2017. This will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the HUB’s Monumental Steps and will feature surprise guests.

For more information about the week-long event, follow TEDxPSU on Twitter (@TEDxPSU) or on Facebook (TEDxPSU).

“5 Days of TED” will have something for everyone and aims to “share ideas worth spreading,” so make sure to get out this week and learn something from this event! Valley knows we will!