Northwestern to host TEDx event on storytelling

Assistant professor of kinesiology Dr. Rajat Emanuel Singh on the TEDx stage during last year's TEDxNWC event.

As part of a grassroots initiative inspired by TED, Northwestern College will host its second TEDxNWC event on Saturday, March 23, at 9:30 a.m. in Christ Chapel. Coordinated by Northwestern junior Elena Lee, a history major from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the event will include presentations by members of the NWC community as well as two regional authors.

The theme of this year’s TEDxNWC event is “Allegory,” focusing on how stories convey messages and promote empathy. “People rarely remember or connect with statistics or bar graphs,” says Lee. “Stories are a universal language that allow people to better understand and connect with the human experience.”

Topics that will be covered by TEDxNWC speakers include:

• “Unleashing the Power of Narrative: How Storytelling Helps You Find Your Voice”: Tina Bakehouse, holistic communications consultant and TEDx coach and speaker
• An original piano performance of “Rhubarb Pie,” composed by NWC sophomore Tyson Braunschweig from Lawton, Iowa
• “The Cost of Toxic Leadership: Unveiling the Hidden Price We All Pay”: the Rev. Kristin Brouwer, Northwestern’s director of discipleship
• “Presuppositions That Prohibit Thriving in Leadership for Persons of Color”: Martha Draayer, Northwestern’s director of intercultural development
• “Doubt and Lament Through Art”: Dr. Bob Hubbard, professor of theatre at NWC
• “The Flipping Point: Transforming ‘No, I Can’t’ Into ‘Yes, I Did’”: Kristi Huss, author, travel adviser and speaker from Sioux Center, Iowa
• “How the Enneagram Causes Us to Believe Things About Ourselves That Are Not True”: Dr. Jay Medenwaldt, assistant professor of psychology at NWC
• “Purity Culture on Christian Campuses”: Jessica Nibbelink, NWC senior psychology and sociology major from Sioux Center, Iowa

For more information about the event, visit ted.com/tedx/events/55085.