Theme: Curiosity and Creativity: Uninihibted

The theme for our proposed event centers around the often elusive, widely pursued, yet inherently universal experiences of creativity and curiosity. Two mindsets characterized by dynamic exploration and unimpeded thinking, we integrated the dual ideas under the umbrella of “Uninhibited,” our official theme for the event. Both creativity and curiosity operate on the principles of thought liberated from conformity, from the pressures to align with expectations and deadlines and the general minutiae that so often govern our day-to-day lives. Imagination, open-mindedness, and unassuming authenticity fuel creative and curious thinking, yet seem to dwindle the older we get. While these attributes are so often cultivated in childhood, their importance is soon overshadowed by a stringent focus on good grades, winning sports games, conducting research, and generally following along with the expectations of the college student’s age of transitions. As students navigating the sometimes murky border between the rest-of-our-lives itching for adulthood and the still-doodle-in-my-notebooks nostalgia for our childhood, we are prone to forgetting what it’s like to be inquisitive, no strings attached; we sometimes pass over creative solutions in favor of well-worn heuristics that we know produce results. While we ready ourselves to leave behind this oddly comforting in-between, we here on the TEDx planning committee believe that only good can come from this Kindergarten class refresher.

198 College Hill Road
Clinton, New York, 13323
United States

Azriel Grysman

Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology at Hamilton College

Azi Grysman is a visiting assistant professor of psychology at Hamilton College. He received his Ph.D. from Rutgers University in Cognitive Psychology, with training in cognitive development. Azi researches autobiographical memory, which concerns memories relevant self and identity, such as memories of pivotal life events and the life story. He is in his third year teaching at Hamilton College, and gives courses on topics such as Human Memory and Cognition and Consciousness. Azi lives in Clinton with his Gavi, and his children, Miriam and Leor.

Ceasar McDowell

President Interaction Institute for Social Change & Professor of Practice MIT | DUSP

Ceasar McDowell is President of the Interaction Institute for Social Change & Professor of Practice MIT | DUSP. When asked what his work is about Ceasar always says, "Voice." He has a deep and abiding passion for figuring out how people who are systematically marginalized by society have the opportunity to voice their lived experiences to the world. Ceasar believes that until people are able to lift up those experiences, they will be unable to participate as full members of society. As founder of MIT’s Co-Lab, Ceasar works to develop the critical moments reflection method to help communities build knowledge from their practice or, as he likes to say, "to know what they know." Through his work at the global civic engagement organization, Engage The Power, he developed The Question Campaign as a method for building democratic communities from the ground up. At MIT, Ceasar teaches on civic and community engagement and the use of social media to enhance both.

Crystal Leigh Endsley

Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Crystal Leigh Endsley, Ph D is Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. Recognized by Cosmopolitan Magazine as a “Fun, Fearless Female,” Crystal Leigh is both performer and professor, and she serves her community as an internationally acclaimed spoken word artist, activist, and actor. For the past eight years, Crystal Leigh has traveled across the world to lead arts as activism workshops with global communities and on college campuses. Crystal Leigh serves on the committee responsible for planning the International Day of the Girl SpeakOut! hosted by the United Nations each October. Her first book The Fifth Element: Social Justice Pedagogy through Spoken Word Poetry will be published by SUNY Press in March 2016. Find Dr. Crystal Leigh at: @drcrystalleigh

Jeremy Ohringer

Theatre Director and Teaching Artist

Jeremy Ohringer is a director and teaching artist. His recent directing credits include an adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening with Fearless Theatre, Who Rowed Across Oceans by Danielle Littman, which was seen in both Chicago and at the Edinburgh Fringe festival, Virginia Woolf’s Orlando Adapted by Sarah Ruhl, and Salve Regina, which premiered at the Ringwald Theatre before moving to the United Solo Theatre Festival in NYC and the Center on Halsted in Chicago. As an educator, Jeremy has worked with the National High School Institute “Cherubs” program at Northwestern University as well as Steppenwolf, Global Voices Initiative, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Actors Training Center, Emerald City, Shattered Globe, American Theater Company, CO/LAB and Parker Plus. He is the Youth Ensemble Director at Chicago Youth Shakespeare.

Max Schnidman

Econometrician at the United States Postal Regulatory Commission

Max Schnidman is an econometrician at the Postal Regulatory Commission, having previously worked as an economic assistant at the FDIC. He graduated summa cum laude from Hamilton College in 2014 with honors in both economics and philosophy. During his time at Hamilton College, he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, parliamentarian of the Student Assembly, and a tutor at both the Oral Communication Center and the Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning Center. He also prepared taxes as part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, a practice he continues to this day.

Sandy Rao

Student at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth University

Sandy Rao is currently in her first year of study at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth University, specializing in neuroscience. She earned her B.A. at Hamilton College with a major in neuroscience in 2015. There, she graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and earned the Mary McMaster Hallock Prize in Science. During her tenure at Hamilton College, she researched nutrition in Utica area schools, tumor associated fibroblasts at Wake Forest University, Parkinson’s disease at Hamilton College, and more. Additionally, she was deeply involved in community service and outreach clubs at Hamilton including Young People’s Project, Hamilton Association for Volunteering, Outreach, and Charity, and the Philanthropy Committee.