Written by: Therese Joffre, Website Manager
Taylor is a senior at Hope College and is from Chicago, Illinois. She is majoring in electrical engineering. Her talk's title is "Why you need a black friend: shifting the way we socialize".
Taylor wanted to be a part of the TEDxHopeCollege Speaker team because her mom put having her own TED Talk on her yearly vision board as she was growing up. Additionally, she was praised for having good speaking skills all her life. When she came to Hope College, she met Vanessa Greene and worked with CDI on DEI work. Thus, her two passions merged together to create this TED Talk!
TED and TEDx organizations inspire Taylor because they "deliver impact" and "they don't just seek and support but want to bring amazing and fresh points of view to a global audience". For Taylor, our theme turning the tables means not settling with the norm or the status quo. She is most looking forward to seeing the audience before her with her mom and dad's pride and happiness shining out. She wishes that her Grandma could be with them as well.
After graduation, she will be living back at home to enjoy some quality family time. Her dream job is to work in innovation and think tanks! Taylor's biggest irrational fear is bodily fluids and when birds move way too fast. Something that she wishes she could invent is a way to deliver the effect of coffee while you are sleeping. The best choice that she has ever made is staying at Hope College, even after having tough days but pushing through those. Finally, she loves to dance and always enjoys some good Korean food and a K-drama!
