TEDx Lineup Features Diverse Set of Speakers

The upcoming TEDxMiddlebury conference is expected to offer the fundamental TED organization promise of, “ideas worth spreading,” according to Roy Wang ’16 who is currently serving as one of the event’s organizers. Scheduled for March 9 at the Center for the Arts concert hall, the event features the first ever student speaker, Ryan Kim ’14, selected through an audition process last fall.

Featuring a diverse range of speakers, the TEDxMiddlebury Board aims to plan an event with fewer speakers but a larger audience than the past three TEDx conferences, according to co-head of the TEDxMiddlebury Board Josh Swartz ’15. TED talks, an organization that hosts renowned speakers, inspired schools across the nation to form independently organized TEDx conferences that embrace similar principles.

“I think the whole idea of TED of sharing ideas and the fact that it is so interdisciplinary epitomizes the liberal arts spirit in many ways,” said member of the TEDxMiddlebury Board, Martin Fowler ’15.5. “That’s why we’re here to learn from each other and I think this is a great addition.”

The theme for this year’s conference is “The Road not Taken,” a topic inspired by the Robert Frost poem of the same name.  According to co-head Amanda Wiggans ’14.5, this theme is especially relevant to Middlebury students.

“At Middlebury there are a lot of ways you can just go through the motions … I think it’s really exciting and important to go beyond that,” said Wiggans.

The notion of defying convention for bold and innovative alternatives will be addressed through various approaches. According to Fowler, the diverse range of speakers strengthens the theme by providing a wide range of angles to view “the Road not Taken,” from.

“I like the fact that we’re so open and that we allow them to bring their perspective and how they view the theme... They are incredibly different,” said Fowler.

Co-leader of the TEDxMiddlebury Board Josh Swartz ’14.5 added that maintaining coherence among such a diverse cast of speakers presents challenges.

“I think that’s one of the biggest challenges we face as organizers is making an event that seems consistent but provides people from so many fields of work,” said Swartz.