A collective of speakers hailing from the Los Medanos College community have been enlisted to speak at the college’s very first independently organized TEDx Event Tuesday, Nov. 14 in the Recital Hall at 6 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and seating is limited — only 100 tickets will be given out.

The process through which the license was received was extensive; starting when the request for the license was put in last spring.

“The process to obtain the license was tedious and Professor Huffman and I would not take ‘no’ for an answer,” said Interim Honors Program Director Marie Arcidiacono.

Leading up to the approval, there were two Cultural Conversation events held on campus in which five speakers were chosen to talk about their life experiences. However, the journey to receiving the TED license didn’t come without hardship.

World Languages Department Chair Laurie Huffman said, “I spent nearly a year with the process. They denied us twice, but the third time we sent Marie’s students speech topics and they were so inspired that they gave us the license.”

Arcidiacono echoed similar sentiments, saying, “the years leading up to TEDxLosMedanosCollege have been a labor of love by Professor Huffman and I. We have spent long hours preparing for an event of this magnitude.”

The speakers slated to speak that evening are Nina Ghiselli Nilton Serva, Brianne Visaya, Hannah Siddiqui, Dan Beaver and Al-Ameen Ishola. Each speaker had to go through an application process in which they answered questions regarding the content of their proposed speeches.

One of the requirements to be chosen as a speaker was to adhere to the theme of the event, “The Future of Everything.”

LMC is the only college in the Contra Costa Community District to have received a TED license.
“This is a proud time for all of us at the college,” expressed Huffman.

Arcidiacono articulated her gratitude to those who funded and supported the event. “We are thankful to the LMC Innovation Grant for sponsoring these events and appreciative of the support we have received from administration, faculty and staff on-campus.”

Arcidiacono added that she hopes those in attendance will receive an “increased knowledge base given the variety of speech topics we will cover and a desire to begin thinking about the future that includes asking questions and seeking answers to help build the best community the far East Bay can offer.”