Five students and five external speakers presented on topics ranging from diversity, equity and inclusion to personal adversity during TEDxGeorgetown’s annual conference. 

At the student-organized conference, titled “Seasons for Change,” speakers discussed their battles with change and the power in embracing uncertainty during life’s different “seasons,” such as isolation in winter and hot topics in the summer. The April 23 event was a collaboration between Georgetown University and TED, a global nonprofit organization that aims to spotlight fresh ideas.

The event featured consultant Kia Afcari, a consultant, and Michael Marion, an educational adviser whose talk focused on the importance of education, diversity and freedom. Creative contractor Bilal “Bali” Khan discussed how he turned his struggles with homelessness into motivation to co-start a restaurant for homeless Washingtonians in a conversation titled “Rethinking My American Dream.” 

“Oppression is a jail cell for everybody. It hurts both the oppressed and the oppressor,” Afkari said in his talk. 

The nonprofit TED invites globally known speakers to present on ideas and issues during its broad annual conference. TEDx events allow local speakers to present at conferences following the TED format, with ten speakers presenting for 18 minutes each throughout the conference.

Rithvik Veeramachaneni (CAS ’25), TEDxGeorgetown’s co-chair, said events like TEDxGeorgetown help student speakers develop and gain confidence in their stories. 

“It’s always fulfilling to see a talk go from ideation and brainstorming to a nuanced, inspiring talk that has the potential to reach millions on TEDx’s YouTube account,” Veeramachaneni wrote to The Hoya. “To create this platform for speakers to share their stories and inspire a global audience with their insights has truly been an honor.”

Five Georgetown undergraduate and graduate students also presented at the conference, including Paneez Oliai (CAS ’23), who advocated for taking risks through public speaking, and Umayr Shaikh (MED ’26), who addressed the need for a holistic education in his talk “So, You Want to be a Doctor? Study English!” 

Anna Kutbay (LAW ’25) then reflected on being diagnosed with autism in a talk titled “What My Late-In-Life Autism Diagnosis Taught Me About Change.”

Marissa Nissley (MSB ’24), who discussed how her guide dog changed her view towards independence, said the online presence of TED talks expanded the audience and impact of her talk, allowing more people to identify with her story. 

“The talk itself on Sunday was only a small fraction of what I want this piece to do,” Nissley told The Hoya. “The majority of views for TEDx talks are all on YouTube. They’re online. It’s not just your family and friends in Gaston Hall.”

The event also featured Zahab Kamal Khan, a Pakistani-born professional squash player and holder of two Guinness World Records, who discussed her experience as a woman of color and as a professional athlete, and Dr. Sofia Din, who spoke about her experience as a renowned geriatrician researching non-surgical anti-aging treatments.

Nissley said that the TED platform allowed her to make her topic of disability studies more accessible to the general public. 

“While I was creating my TED talk, I wanted it to be something that people could relate to, even if they didn’t go to Georgetown University, even if they didn’t know me personally, even if they weren’t super familiar with disability justice,” Nissley said. 

Anisa Nanavati (SFS ’26), who discussed embracing emotions and vulnerability during her presentation “Crying: The Path to Happiness” and is the first first-year to speak at a TEDxGeorgetown event, said she aimed to inspire listeners despite her age. 

“As a young person it’s like, ‘What do I know about life?’” Nanavati told The Hoya. “It’s still really cool to be able to share my story and be able to impact people who are much older than me, people that are younger than me and even my peers.”

Nanavati said she encourages students to embrace nervousness when sharing their personal backgrounds and stories. 

“If you have a story, there’s a 100% chance that there’s someone else who will resonate with it,” Nanavati told The Hoya. “The value that someone gets from resonating with a speech that you deliver is so much more valuable than the fear.” 

The value of TEDxGeorgetown’s conference lies in creating engagement between the speaker and the audience, Veeramachaneni said.

“It’s not a motivational speech where someone talks down to you and tells you exactly how to ‘do better,’” Veeramachaneni wrote. “Rather, speakers are offering their reflections on their experiences and suggesting how they may be applicable to audience members’ lives as well. Whether or not an audience member chooses to act on a speaker’s reflections is up to them.”

Correction: This article was updated on 5/4/23 to better reflect the theme of Marissa Nissley’s TEDxGeorgetown talk.