The largest TEDx University event in the nation, TEDxCUNY returned with their 9th annual conference. in the Gerald W. Theater at John Jay College of Criminal Justice on Apr. 17th. This year’s theme is “PLAYBACK.”
The event was hosted by Hibba Fatima, a Political Science student at City College of New York and Robert Rada, a Media Studies student at Hunter College. In total, there were seven speakers and five performances with raffles and giveaways scheduled near the end of the conference.
Initial planning started in spring 2025, with team meetings starting at the beginning of the Fall 2025 semester, the lead organizers, Saanavi Goyal and Rachel Ruggeri, oversaw the team’s duties which contributed to the overall success of the event.
“Every Friday we’d have a program set up. We have different teams — there’s logistics, there’s a media and design team, and then partnership and outreach which is my team, focused on getting sponsors,” said Hay Mar Oo, a Finance major at Baruch College, who joined the team after attending the conference the year prior.
The Knight News sat down with some of the speakers and members of the TEDxCUNY team to ask about their experience working with the “TEDx” team and what CUNY students can take away from their talks as well as the overall conference.
Kevin Schrek, documentary filmmaker and film educator, talked about his experience, “Using my movie Antarctic Voyage — which was about a team of CUNY scientists studying the wildlife around the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia — I demonstrate how you can use filmmaking techniques and cinema to emotionally engage your audience and hopefully make them care about issues of science.”
“So many people from different walks of life share a mutual goal — the pursuit of curiosity and expression. I think that’s what TED does best, and it’s really cool to see that kind of zeal from such a great team here,” said Schrek.
Dave Steck, a filmmaker, artist, and professor in the Film and Media Department at Hunter College, described his process from being offered the role of speaker by TEDxCUNY to delivering his presentation:
“It took months to get the script where it needed to be. It was written in a way that could be presented live. We wrote for most of the fall, then began to memorize, working on it each week.”
Steck added, “I felt very present and I sincerely believed everything I said. I feel very happy that my main takeaway was there, and that people could walk away thinking, ‘I get it.’”
One of the most anticipated moments of the conference came from Mira Goodman, a Macaulay Honors College student at Hunter. Goodman talked about what her speech meant to her and how she communicated with CUNY students at the conference.
“In terms of science, I’ve always been very interested in nature documentaries and I’ve always loved public speaking, advocacy, and argumentative thinking and writing.” Goodman said. “And in terms of a personal interest — I talk about this in my talk — my family, especially my dad, has been personally affected by the climate crisis… Marginalized groups of people disproportionately bear the brunt of the climate crisis and environmental hazards. I just want to change that.”
Rachel Houng, Co-Director of Speakers and Programming, shared what she hoped CUNY students would take away from the conference, “I hope CUNY students realize their voices are important and it doesn’t matter where they come from, they each have a story to share that’s important and integral to not only your identity but other people’s identity. You can see from the speakers, they all have a message that the audience clearly resonates with.”
Beyond the speeches, attendees could choose up to two hands-on workshops during the midday break, from pottery painting with Color Me Mine to collage making, meditation and trivia with prizes, alongside performances by the Brooklyn Comedy Collective, the American Mime Theater and MothWorks at the Moth. Tickets for CUNY students were free when registered in advance.
Melanie, a returning TEDxCUNY attendee, found the conference memorable for its theme of “PLAYBACK” saying, “I usually think about rewinding to the past and reflecting on good times,” CUNY students can visit https://www.tedxcuny.com/ to get involved with TEDxCUNY and https://www.instagram.com/tedxcuny/ to see pictures, videos and a re-cap of the event.
