My story
Most of my life has been spent on a stage, whether singing, performing poetry, or speaking. One of the highlights of my journey was being selected to participate in Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Discovery X program, which was modeled after TED-style talks. Inspired by that experience, I auditioned for TEDxColumbus and was thrilled to be selected.
Later, I attended an Opera in the Lobby event in the Short North, where a woman approached me with an unexpected suggestion: she encouraged me to apply for what she called the "real TED." I was taken aback. I had just achieved a significant milestone with TEDx, and here was a stranger pushing me to dream even bigger. Her words stayed with me, and despite battling imposter syndrome, I applied for TED's global talent search in New York.
After auditioning, I was honored to be selected to speak at the "real TED" conference in Vancouver, Canada. That experience became a turning point in my career, opening doors I had never imagined. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of speaking at events like Microsoft, South Summit in Spain and numerous conferences around the world.