Latin's First TedX Conference: A Rundown
May 3, 2015
Have you ever wondered how chefs at Alinea transform your dining experience? Do you know how Title IX changed college athletic programs for women in the United States? Do you know how the world’s kindest company operates? Have you ever wondered how Chapman (alumni Alex Chapman) came into himself as an artist? Do you want to know how to start your own business as a teenager?
These questions and more were answered at Latin’s first TEDx event, which was held April 25 in the library. The event featured five speakers: Nick Kokonas, co-owner and co-founder of Alinea, Next, and The Aviary; Margaret Stender, founder of the Chicago Sky; Marc Landsberg, CEO of socialdeviant; Alex Chapman, a rapper and DJ based in New York; and Neal Salés-Griffin, CEO of the Starter League.
Nick Kokonas spoke on designing experience, specifically regarding his vision for Alinea, which is a three Michelin-star rated restaurant in Lincoln Park. The menu of Alinea, which changes frequently, features food items that you have to eat without utensils, table centerpieces incorporated into dishes (vacuum-sealed limes), and much more out-of-the-box foods. For patrons of Alinea, eating at the restaurants is as much a part of the experience as the food itself, and Mr. Kokonas touched on how that approach can be applied to all aspects of our lives.
Margaret Stender gave a talk on how Title IX, which is part of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, changed her life and the life of every female athlete in the country. Title IX ensured that women weren’t discriminated against in educational programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance, and Ms. Stender recounted her experience as a college basketball player whose team received matching Converse basketball shoes for the first time after Title IX passed.
Marc Landsberg, CEO of socialdeviant, talked about founding the world’s kindest company. Mr. Landsberg began his career by working in advertising company, but after being treated unkindly on multiple occasions, he decided to quit and start his own company with the mindset of being the world’s kindest company. Mr. Landsberg described how this mindset can and should be used for our daily lives.
Alex Chapman, an up-and-coming artist in New York and recent Latin graduate, spoke about coming out and coming into himself, both as gay and and as an artist. Alex talked about how if being yourself means breaking conventions, that shouldn’t stop you from being who you are.
Neal Salés-Griffin spoke about how we can start companies as teenagers. Neal has been starting companies since he was 18, and he founded the Starter League, a company that teaches people how to code and how to start their own businesses, after he had difficulty learning how to code himself. The first step, he said, to starting any business is being observant and finding problems that we can help solve.
These talks will be available on Youtube in about two weeks, so look out for an announcement.
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