Carole & Jim Young Fellows give back at TEDxKIDS @SMU

DALLAS (SMU) – Thirteen SMU students have been selected as the first Carole & Jim Young Fellows — an enthusiastic team to participate in a yearlong relationship with the TEDxSMU program through a combination of leadership development and service learning opportunities.

Their first responsibility will be to serve as guides for the more than 300 middle school students who will attend TEDxKids @SMU on Dec. 2 at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre.

The event to be live-streamed at www.tedxsmu.org.

“Above all else, the Carole & Jim Young Fellows are ‘interesting and interested’ in what’s happening both locally and in the world around them,” said director Sharon Lyle.  “We hope that the creation of the Carole & Jim Young Fellows gives them each an opportunity to expand their world views and to share that experience with the students participating at TEDxKids @SMU.”

The fellowships were made possible by a grant from an anonymous donor to honor Carole and Jim Young for their longstanding commitment to the TED theme of “Ideas Worth Spreading” and for their enthusiastic support of TEDxSMU and TEDxKids @SMU, Lyle said. The Youngs have been active volunteer leaders at SMU for two decades and both are current members of the Lyle School of Engineering’s Caruth Institute for Engineering Education Advisory Board.

The fellows represent each of SMU’s seven degree-granting schools.  Representing Dedman College are Rahfin Faruk, an 18-year-old freshman studying economics, and Julie Kangas, a 24-year-old graduate student studying clinical psychology. Representing Perkins School of Theology are Andress Boggs, 28, and Brandon Lazarus, 23, and both are pursuing a master of divinity. Graduate student Alicia Booker, 34, is seeking her masters’ degree in dispute resolution and was chosen from the Simmons School of Education and Human Development.

Representing the Lyle School of Engineering are Moria Momsen, a 19-year-old sophomore studying mechanical engineering, and Bre'Shard Busby, an 18-year-old freshman studying computer science.   Harriet Atsegbua, 29, and Krishanu Sengupta, 25, are representing the Dedman School of Law.

Roman Stolyarov, a 19-year-old junior, and Seth Dennis, a 22-year-old senior, are both studying business management in the Cox School of Business. Katelyn Hall, a 19-year-old, freshman studying journalism and Andrea Netti, a 24-year-old senior pursuing communications studies, are representing the Meadows School of the Arts.

In addition to their participation guiding more than 300 excitable youngsters through their half-day program at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre at TEDxKids @SMU, the Young Fellows receive a complimentary ticket to the full-day TEDxSMU on Dec. 3 and are invited to all other 2011-2012 TEDxSMU programs.  The fellows also will share a special dinner with program namesakes Carole and Jim Young.

“TEDxSMU brings a unique dimension to our community by recognizing, cultivating and nurturing those who will make a difference in our world,” said Carole Young. “I am thrilled that, through the Carole & Jim Young Fellows program, the opportunity to experience this innovative conference will be passed on to outstanding SMU students.”

“We are convinced that once these students experience TED, they will soon discover their own ‘ideas worth spreading,’” said Jim Young.  “As a longtime and deeply committed TEDster, I am honored to have this program in our name.”

TEDxKids @SMU and TEDxSMU are both independently organized events, licensed by the team behind the renowned TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference held annually in Long Beach, Calif.  Lightning-fast talks paired with compelling visuals will be based on a central theme of “disruption” this year as the half-day TEDxKids @SMU and full-day TEDxSMU events return to the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre. TEDxKids @SMU will run from 12:30-5 p.m. Dec. 2 and the adult version, TEDxSMU, will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3.  Both events are fully reserved, but will be live-streamed at www.tedxsmu.org.

New to this year's TEDxSMU program are free, live remote viewing parties at three locations Dec. 3: Texas Theater in Oak Cliff (231 W. Jefferson Boulevard), Tech Wildcatters in Uptown (2700 Fairmount Street) and AT&T Foundry in Plano (2900 W. Plano Parkway). Food and drink will be available for purchase and participants can come and go during the 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. event as their schedules permit. Registration is required at txsviewing.eventbrite.com.

Participation in TEDxKids @SMU is offered to Dallas-area area students free of charge in exchange for an agreement to complete a service-learning project. All TEDxKids-coordinated service projects will take place on Monday, Jan. 16, 2012 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day), and the Carole and Jim Young Fellows will be encouraged to participate.

Visit http://www.tedxsmu.org/ for more information about TEDxSMU and TEDxKids @SMU. Find more information about ideas worth spreading and a complete list of TEDTalks at www.TED.com.

About TEDxSMU

Mind-stretching programs that connect thought leaders, solution seekers and the merely curious to “why not?” challenges will return to the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre with TEDxKids @SMU on Dec. 2 and TEDxSMU on Dec. 3. The theme for TEDxSMU in 2011 will be disruption – a discussion of events, discoveries and how they impact us personally and as a community.

TEDxSMU is an all-day event for pre-registered participants, and the 2010 program ranged from personal discussions of physical and mental journeys to demonstrations of high-tech gadgetry. Architect Joshua Prince-Ramus used the Wyly Theatre as a teaching tool throughout the program, opening the moveable walls of the theatre he designed to the sights and sounds of downtown Dallas at the end of the day.

TEDxKids @SMU is a half-day program designed for middle school students who hear incredible speakers, experience hands-on demos and learn during interactive breaks. In 2010, 350 middle school students learned about evolution from a Canadian rapper, witnessed a breakthrough invention called the EyeWriter, and applauded for peer presenters who spoke about micro lending, politics and poetry. In exchange for free admission to TEDxKids @SMU, student attendees are required to complete a service project. Through projects at SMU, at school, and with local nonprofits, students who attended TEDxKids @SMU in 2010 have contributed more than 1,625 service hours to the community.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani,Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, California, with simulcast in Palm Springs; TEDGlobal is held each year in Oxford, UK. TED’s media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily, and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to host local, self-organized events around the world, and the TEDFellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

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