TEDxSwarthmore Student Challenge

Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.

The Organizing Committee of TEDxSwarthmore is excited to announce the Student Challenge, a campaign to identify and select ONE Swarthmore student to speak at TEDxSwarthmore on March 31, 2012. This opportunity provides students with the TED platform to share their ideas (and efforts) that fit the theme of “What makes a good society?” One student will be invited to join our eleven current speakers, consisting of faculty, parents, and alumni, who all will all be challenged to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less.

Beginning on Thursday, December 8th, students and faculty will be able to nominate any current Swarthmore student who has an idea worth sharing about “What makes a good society?” From those students who are nominated to speak, FIVE students will be selected by to participate in the Student Challenge. Each of the five students selected will be challenged to give an abbreviated TED-like talk on an idea, project, or experience they would like to share with the world. One student will be chosen by a panel of judges to speak at TEDxSwarthmore. The student who wins the challenge will have their talk recorded at TV production quality and posted to the TEDxSwarthmore website where it can be viewed by anyone around the world.

The Swarthmore community is full of students with exciting ideas that are doing extraordinary things to improve our society. Consider who among your friends and fellow classmates would be best to represent the student body at TEDxSwarthmore. Nominations can be submitted at TEDxSwarthmore.com starting on December 8th. The deadline to submit nominations is midnight on January 30th, 2012.