Six students were selected for the 2019 Steering Committee responsible for hosting this year’s TEDxACU conference.

The 5th annual TEDxACU conference is March 1, and covers the topic of future possibilities in a series called “IF.”

Applications were submitted and received before Thanksgiving break through a link on the their website, the following students were selected for this year’s Steering Committee:

• Mariana Cedillo, senior multimedia major from McAllen
• Logan Chapman, junior management, finance and accounting major from San Antonio
• Madeline Dayton, senior global studies and business management major from Sugar Land
• Katie Himes, junior psychology major from El Paso
• Shannon Que, senior social work major from San Diego
• Jenna Salzman, junior political science major from Fort Worth

The students will be assigned specific duties to assist in the production of the TED talk event and help the program run smoothly.

“All of us work together to do different things,” Salzman said. “Some of us will host. There are people who will help make sure speakers get to where they need to be, people doing sounds, and slides. They are there to make sure everything happens and happens well.”

Que said she loved her experience on last year’s Steering Committee, and wanted to do it again.

“I really love that ACU has their own version and has a TEDx event annually,” Que said. “I think it’s unique to have opportunities that students can be involved in something like that. To be a part of something that actually puts it on, I don’t feel like those opportunities are super common, especially for undergrads. To be as involved as we are in the planning and the execution of it all, that’s what drew me to it.”

The new committee will begin meeting next semester to plan details of the program – what the stage will look like and what props will be used. The team will organize and coordinate everything from picking up the speakers flying in from the airport to the order of speakers and discussions of topics onstage.

“I just love the collaboration of it and being able to be with the people who care about TEDx and think it’s cool,” Que said. “And just being able to be a part of something that is world renown, hearing the speakers and getting to see all the behind the scenes stuff and watching them rehearse. I don’t feel like there is a ton of opportunities on a lot of college campuses to do things as involved as this. Or it’s advertised one way and then you get into it and it’s not as hands on, but this is different. It’s very hands on and inclusive.”