TEDxBard Organizer Emily O’Rourke ’25 Shares Her Lessons Learned from Organizing a Conference
L–R: TEDx Bard organizers Tom Chitwood, first, Emily O'Rourke, second, Jay Siegal, third, and Thanasis Kostikas, sixth, are joined by Center for Civic Engagement project advisors Chaya Huber, fourth, and Sarah deVeer, fifth.
O’Rourke writes that planning the conference was a haven from the stresses of college life. The team tried to find “humor in the terror” of planning such a large event, and “most of our sessions would end with, ‘So are we really doing this?’” The event helped all of them find a place at college and helped O’Rourke in particular to overcome personal grief by finding a community. “I got to spend time with so many people who, through their ideas and passion, inspired me to have hope for my own future,” she said.
O’Rourke is the event organizer for the 2025 TEDx Conference which will take place on February 8. Entitled “Building Bridges,” it will focus on topics from structural issues in the global coffee supply chain to building a sustainable lifestyle under mass-market capitalism.
Post Date: 10-23-2024