TEDx Savannah set for Thursday, featuring talks on connection

 'My personal vision is to spread positivity to the world, one person at a time'

TEDx TALKS exist to inform and spread ideas to attendees and watchers.

TED began in 1984 as a conference where technology, entertainment, and design were discussed. Today, TED is known worldwide as a platform that covers topics such as education, family life, and global issues.

On Thursday, May 25, TEDx Savannah will host an event at Georgia Southern University on the Armstrong Campus. I interviewed Candicee Childs, one of the 15 speakers, to learn more about her and her speech. I also spoke with Karla Jennings, a TEDx Savannah organizer, to learn more about her tenure as an organizer and her thoughts on the upcoming event.  

Childs is a native of Savannah and is a medical student at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Georgia. Her goal is to encourage others to find their passion and pursue their dreams.

Childs has two degrees: a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry with a minor in Spanish from Valdosta State University and a Master of Healthcare Administration degree from Georgia Southern University. She dreams of becoming a child and adolescent psychiatrist. In October 2020, Candicee wrote “Lemons, Lemonade, & the Lemonade Stand: My Bittersweet Journey to Medical School.” Her book became a #1 bestseller on Amazon.

May 25's TEDx will be Candicee’s first talk, and she is grateful for this opportunity.

“Over the years, I had experience with public speaking that began with giving my Groves High School Salutatorian speech and Georgia 4-H,” Childs says. “With this youth development organization, I was able to present projects in front of judges for competitions. I was also elected to several positions, including State Representative, which gave me the opportunity to speak in front of the Georgia Governor, State Senate, and at several other large events across the state. Recently, I was a part of the Savannah Toastmasters organization as well.”

She went further by saying that she feels she has exceptional experience with public speaking.

While she couldn't discuss her talk specifically with me due to TEDx guidelines, Childs assured me that what she will speak about is something she is passionate about and will relate to this year’s theme of connection.

Childs has been practicing memorizing her speech with different techniques. For example, she meets with small groups to practice giving her speech in front of others. “I have also had several mentors in my field who have helped me as well. Receiving constructive feedback is incredibly important to me. It is my hope to receive as much as I can before our big day! I have watched several TEDx Talks to learn about stage presence and delivery. I also plan on practicing as much as I can,” she says.

Childs hopes that what she will discuss will penetrate the hearts of those who will listen. She not only hopes to empower people, but also strengthen our communities. She said that these things are her personal mission in life. She hopes that people will gain a new perspective on how we can connect with one another and will put into practice what we discuss.  

In regard to what this opportunity means for Childs, she says, “This opportunity means the world to me! I had dreams of one day giving a TEDx Savannah talk, and I admit, I had no idea it would happen so soon. I always imagined speaking when I was older with even more experience. However, I see the beauty of speaking to others while I am at this stage of what seems to be a unique transition period in my career. I hope that other young women, especially those of color, can see that you can achieve great things such as this by putting yourself out there and giving your dreams a fighting chance. I hope this opportunity means that this is just the beginning of an amazing venture in public speaking. My personal vision is to spread positivity to the world, one person at a time. With this opportunity, I hope this means I am well on my way to accomplishing just that.”

Karla Jennings has been a TEDx Savannah organizer since 2017. That year, one of her students was selected to be a speaker. She assisted her student with her application and volunteered as a speaker coach, and has been an organizer since then.

Regarding how the speakers were chosen, Jennings said it was an extensive month-long process. Toward the end of December and the beginning of January, a call for speakers went out.

“They were given the deadline to complete an application. On the application, they were asked what their talk would be about. It asked what was distinctive about it and what their connection to Savannah. It asked what they wanted the audience to take away from their talk.

“And so we had 115 applications that we went through. Not all of them were local to Savannah. When the call went out, we got applications from everywhere. But we really looked very carefully, especially at the ones that had a connection to Savannah. We thought about what would be best for our community at the time. Also, we wanted to go with our theme this year; which is connection. They also had to talk about who they were, how they would address our theme, and their talk. And so we invited 25 speakers to pitch us their ideas. And so they came in in person and had 30 minutes to sell us on their talk. And then that helped us pick the 15 who will be on stage for this year's event,” Jennings says.

This is the first year that TEDx won’t be in downtown Savannah. Initially, the event was going to be for a full day, but this year it will be a half-day event. A regular ticket price costs $50. If someone is an educator or a student, they can purchase a ticket for $40. After the event ends, there will be an after-party that will contain food trucks and music.

Each speech will be ten minutes or less. “And that is the kind of beauty of TED: in a short amount of time, you can get your idea across the tagline as ideas are spreading,” Jennings says. “And really, to me as a speaker and coach, one of the best parts of the event is not just the speakers on stage giving their talks. These will be amazing, but also the breaks in between groups of speakers, where they can talk to the people in the audience. And so this is really considered a community building and community sharing event. And we really hope that we can continue that tradition this year.”

Jennings says that multiple things will make this event a success. This community conversation is important because it will lead to community building. There are people who really want to see Savannah's community change for the better. Having the time and space for these conversations can result in change that would be considered a success.