Theme: The Story of Us

Where were we? Where are we? Where are we going?

The Story of Us is the theme of the TEDxMarianopolisCollege 2022 Conference. It takes us on a deep dive into the stories written in our history books, our hearts and our futures. With the common TEDx goal of spreading insightful ideas and sparking impactful conversations, The Story of Us turns that goal towards the exploring of different paths in front of us. It’s a conversation about the senses we stimulate along the way. It’s about the stories we have written, are writing, and will write as we walk along the path of life.

Marianopolis College
4873 Westmount Ave
Westmount, Quebec, H3Y 1X9
Canada

Élan Martin-Prashad

Élan is a First Year Liberal Arts student at Marianopolis College, and has dreamed of giving a TED Talk since seventh grade. She often finds herself researching the uncelebrated heroes of history and composing jazz music. Aside from spending time with family picking apart life’s mysteries, she enjoys being an aspiring MMA fighter, reading, playing the alto saxophone and raving about movie soundtracks. Élan is currently working on the final draft of her fantasy-eco fiction debut novel.

Geneviève Alexander

Geneviève Alexander, or better known as Gen, is a first year psychology student at Marianopolis College, a Starbucks addict, a mom of a miniature sheltie, a contemporary dancer, and a mental health advocate. On her free time, she likes to make TikToks on psychology and mental health, watch Grey's Anatomy, and cook with her mom. With her studies, she hopes to one day become a clinical psychologist and help kids like her younger self. Oh, and change the world too, maybe.

Jason Bolanis

Jason Bolanis has spent over a decade creating video content and branded entertainment through his company Terranian Productions. He’s uncovered and chronicled stories of lesser-known history for clients that include cities, municipalities, museums, libraries and even shopping malls. He’s created countless hours of video content for a variety of public & private organizations. His attention to detail in visual composition and sound design has become the perfect complement to help him bring any story to any screen.

Jimmy Ung

Jimmy Ung is a high school educator focused on connecting spirituality with civic engagement. He previously worked for We Charity, the Canadian House of Commons and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. Passionate about both people and motorcycles, Jimmy has driven 40,000 km on his motorcycle across the American continent, between Labrador, Newfoundland and Argentine Patagonia for a photo-documentary project focused on cultural identity. Today, he is passionate about increasing his students’ awareness of systems and how they impact both personal and collective growth.

Keshan Kathiripilay

Keshan Kathiripilay is a second year Pure and Applied student at Marianopolis. When he's not cramming for his studies, Keshan enjoys working out, watching the Habs (for whatever reason) and being his friends' therapists. As an aspiring software engineer, he always looks to help fix their own day-to-day glitches and inspire his friends to reach greater heights. After discovering his love for motivating others and public speaking (through being a human mega speaker and debating in high school), giving a TED Talk has always been a dream of his!

Michael Chalkhoun

A 2020 Marianopolis Arts & Sciences alumni, Michael is returning for his second TEDxMarianopolisCollege. Michael is currently studying at McGill with a major in Political science and a double minor in Management and Educational Psychology. He loves being involved in the Montreal community, including owning a tutoring business and coaching high school basketball and running. On his free time, he spends his time playing ball, working out, reading, going out with friends, and eating ice cream.

Stephanie El-Chakieh

Dr. Stephanie El-Chakieh is a pharmacist, scientist, contrarian/philosopher, author, and public speaker aiming to bridge the gaps between health, science, and spirituality. Dr. Stepanie El-Chakieh holds a master’s degree in advanced pharmacotherapy and a doctorate in pharmacy from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Montreal. She has practiced as a pharmacist in over seventeen hospitals and various retail pharmacies in Quebec and has become renowned for her clinical judgment and expertise. She is also a certified functional medicine and herbal medicine practitioner and holds certifications in yoga and reiki. Dr. Stephanie is the founder of Joulance - a science-based supplement company, and also coaches entrepreneurs to become more self-reliant. Dr. Stephanie El-Chakieh is the author of two books: See True for a Vibrating Life and The Thin Lines: build your self-worth and overcome the imposter in you. She currently focuses her time on doing research and she is working on a project to bring her findings to the world. Dr. El-Chakieh shares information on her various social media platforms with over 1M monthly reach.