My Experience of Giving a TEDx Talk

The past week has been extremely surreal! From a trip to Boston with encouraging meetings to giving my first TEDdx talk, I am incredibly grateful for all the doors God has been opening for me lately.

Boston

I endured a rocky start on Wednesday as I left New Jersey to take off to Boston - I missed my flight! I arrived at the counter just minutes after bag drop so I could not check in, even though I was in good timing to catch my flight! But as frustrating as incidents like this are,  sometimes you just have to accept your fate and find a solution! So I decided to cheer myself up by booking my consequent train ticket in business class and enjoyed the little bit of luxury living.

It wasn’t long until my chaotic morning journey was just a distant memory, and later that evening I had such a fun time meeting some of my Barrier Breakers Harvard Law School students. They shared with me their gratitude for the ongoing support that they’ve received from Barrier Breakers and we also discussed their aspirations for the future.

In addition to meeting up with some old middle school and college friends and having breakfast with Claudine Gay (former president of Harvard University) during my time in Boston, I had the honor of co-presenting with the CEO of Street Law at the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) We hosted a panel on Successful Pipeline Programs and included one of our Barrier Breakers students and an attorney whose firm participates in Street Law. My entire experience at NALP was wonderful. I was a bit apprehensive going into the week because I didn’t know that much about NALP and wasn’t feeling very confident in my messaging to law firms to get them to partner with us. However, a colleague whom I hadn’t met before reached out to me on Linkedin to meet for lunch on Thursday, and that changed the entire conference for me. She was familiar with my work as she was also in the legal access and pipeline program space and not only helped me secure a partnership with her school, but also taught me how to present my message to law firms, invited me to a diversity reception where I could meet DEI heads of firms, and introduced me to key contacts that smoothed the path for my presentation on Friday! 

Tedx Asbury Park

And then I went from one speaking event straight to the next! (literally). On Friday after the conference, I flew straight back into NJ and took an Uber directly to the Bell Works theater for the TEDx Asbury Park dress rehearsal. I made it for the last 30 minutes of dress rehearsal and then had the opportunity to practice some more with my speech coach when we got back to the hotel that evening.  Richard arrived later that evening, and I tried to do everything I could to calm my nerves before the big day. 

On Saturday, it was finally time to deliver the TEDx talk that I had been preparing so hard for over the past few weeks! On the stage of the Bell Works Theater, I delivered my talk about the power of first-generation college students and their ability to drive business innovation and success.

First-generation college students are resourceful, resilient, and innovative. They are hard-working, challenge the status quo, and drive higher revenues. We all have the power to support first-generation college students through donating, advocating for policy, creating internship programs, and sharing our stories through mentorship. 


The room was electric and I was honored as the audience laughed, cried, and felt moved by my talk. So many people came up to me afterward to share their own first-generation college stories or the stories of their parents or loved ones. Students approached me afterward and felt inspired and hopeful even as they told me the difficulties they were currently facing navigating their own educational path. I was able to share resources with them and give them confidence that they would be successful on their journey.

My heart is still so full. I’m so grateful to God for the opportunity to share my story and the story of our students at Barrier Breakers®, Inc.

And of course, none of this would have been possible without the amazing team of people that I am blessed to have around me! I had the very best speech coach (free of charge!) who helped me transform into an effective speaker, my seminary professors, and friends from various points in my life listened to the speech and gave feedback, and one of them, Candice, even traveled to see me talk and captured the moment in person. And needless to say, my partner, Richard, showed continuous and selfless support throughout the entire process. From support the night before and backstage, capturing the moment, providing logistical and emotional support, and making sure I had enough rest, food, and prayer to shine,  I could not have done this without him!

My TEDx talk will be available at the end of May on YouTube. Make sure you follow me on social media to be the first to see!