By Josephine Norris, Photo Editor.
For college students, school often becomes their main focus – not to mention a job and some semblance of a social life. However, for one Delta Student, he is going beyond and bringing TEDx to Bay City.
Cameron Zvara, a 21 year-old marketing student, is the director, producer and host of the TEDx event to be held at the Bay City Players.
TED, which stands for technology, entertainment and design, is a California based organization with the goal of sharing ideas on an array of topics via videos, according to the organization’s website. TEDx, an offshoot of TED, offers a way for individuals to put on their own TED event and bring it to their communities.
TEDx Bay City is Oct. 22, 2015 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available to the public at the Bay City Players box office at 989-893-5555 and online at baycityplayers.com. Tickets can also be purchased at The Fix coffee shop in uptown Bay City.
Zvara was challenged by a friend to put on his own TEDx event. He applied for a license and once approved set to work. As a magician, Zvara is typically the one to show up perform. Going from the performer to the organizer of an event like TEDx was an interesting switch because “[organizing an event] is not easy.”
Zvara says, ”there isn’t a theme. It’s just five most interesting people I’ve met in my career – that’s the theme.”
Zvara explained that diversity was his main goal.
“I knew I didn’t want to focus on one single issue and really limit my audience so I wanted to find different topics…I truly believe that the five most interesting [people I’ve met will be] on that stage.”
One of those people that Zvara chose to speak Eric “Q” Beckman. Beckman is a professor of economics and one of Zvara’s past instructors.
“Cameron is kind of a positive influence on this town… He’s a really good kid,” Beckman shared.
Beckman will be going outside his field of economics and speaking on the topic of working with introverts.
“Most of my presentation is about the people you think are extroverted people, [we] are really not getting the best out of them and they’re using too much of their energy pretending [to be] outgoing.”
Beckman shared that public speaking isn’t his biggest strength but is “doing it because I have the opportunity.”
Tickets not only grant admissions to the five featured speakers, but also an after party where audience members can enjoy hors d’oeuvres and mingle with the speakers.