TEDxStCloud

12/20/2024

Congratulations to Meren Parks and Kate Randall on their December graduation from St. Cloud State University. These talented students designed the TEDxStCloud logos and promotional collateral the past two years. Meren was our 2023 designer with Pattern. Kate designed our 2024 YES! logo. Wishing you continued success on the next phase of your journey.

11/12/2024

Thank you to our speakers, artists, volunteers and sponsors for making the 2024 TedxStCloud event such a success last month! Couldn't attend? Be sure to check out a few of these snapshots from the evening!

Paramount Center for the Arts
Saint John's Preparatory School
Marina Cetkovic-Cvrlje
Ma Elena Gutierrez
Jim Knutson-Kolodzne
Riley Johnson
Alise Sjostrom
Jerry Sparby

10/11/2024

Were you able to attend TEDxStCloud last night? Tell us about your favorite moments!

10/11/2024

While our inspiring speakers take the stage, the skilled broadcast crew from , SCSU Mass Communications, live streams a stellar show.

10/10/2024

Event crew is ready!

10/10/2024

Dress rehearsal on the red dot. 🔴 Just over 2 hours to show time!

10/10/2024

Thank you to ALL of our 2024 volunteers, TEDxStCloud would not happen without your amazing talents.

Congratulations on another event this year, wishing you a fun and successful evening!

10/10/2024

Our event tomorrow evening will include ASL (American Sign Language) Interpretation. Seats are available for those who request close sightlines to the interpreters.

We hope to see you there!

Tickets are still available at https://paramountarts.org/

Paramount Center for the Arts

10/09/2024

Just over 24 hours until TEDxStCloud! Our volunteers are busy setting up the stage and it looks amazing!

It's not too late, tickets are still available at Paramount Center for the Arts website.

https://paramountarts.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/ #/events/a0S3m00000C27feEAB

10/09/2024

Congratulations to Professors Matt Davis, Ph.D., and Jen Lamb, Ph.D of St. Cloud State University on their recent collaboration with Netflix for the documentary “The Rhythm of Life.”

Matt and Jennifer presented at 2020 on bioluminescence.
https://youtu.be/52VoVgKYhXU

Check out the full story on sctimes.com: https://www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/2024/10/08/st-cloud-state-professors-work-featured-in-netflix-science-documentary/75469964007/

Two St. Cloud State University professors helped producers with a Netflix documentary about amphibians' ability to glow with biofluorescence.

10/07/2024

Sonja Gidlow is our talented Speaker Coach, among other TEDxStCloud positions she holds, and she has been volunteering with TedxStCloud since 2017! Thank you Sonja for your incredible work year round, know that the other volunteers, the audience and especially the speakers all appreciate your commitment and expertise!

Learn more about the work that she does below and see her efforts first hand this Thursday night at the Paramount Center for the Arts!

- What is your role, and what does that involve?
"Currently, I serve on the core planning team, the speaker curation team and am the speaker coach. The core planning team oversees the planning of the event. The speaker curation team is committed to featuring speakers who have a local connection. In response to the idea that “nothing happens in St. Cloud,” we shine the light on amazing people doing amazing things, locally. We are also committed to selecting a slate of speakers that reflects diversity across all demographics and areas of interest.

None of our speakers are professional speakers, which is why TEDxStCloud provides complimentary coaching for all of them. In my role as speaker coach, each speaker has four, 1-hour coaching sessions with me over the two months prior to the event. I support each speaker in determining the topic of their talk, honing it to 10 minutes in length, and polishing their presentation techniques."

- What is your favorite part of volunteering?
"TEDxStCloud is a unique event. The planning process is very creative and I love how we are challenged to come up with unique ideas every year. I also love my role as speaker coach. The speaker journey, from accepting the invitation to speak to standing on the red dot on stage at the Paramount Theatre, is challenging! I get to walk alongside really interesting people and support them in expressing themselves and their ideas, and preparing them for the TEDxStCloud experience."

10/06/2024

Always fun when a young designer can see their creations jump from the computer screen to real life. Nice work, Kate Randall. TEDxStCloud is this Thursday. Get your tickets now:

https://paramountarts.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/ #/events/a0S3m00000C27feEAB

10/05/2024

Highlighting another one of our volunteers, this time a familiar face. Brian Hart has been involved with TEDxStCloud from the very beginning, and this year marks his 8th event!

As the lead organizer Brian works with our incredible volunteer teams: the Core Planning Team, the Speaker Curation Team, the Inclusion Team and the Production Team. Ensuring that each team has what they need to pull off this amazing event each year.

Thank you for your commitment and leadership to this event Brian!

Read on to learn a bit more about Brian and his role with TedxStCloud.

1. What is your favorite part of volunteering?
"I love gathering the growing TEDxStCloud community audience together every year to shine the light on some of our neighbors who are doing incredible work and are passionate about their "Ideas worth spreading." I get to meet and hang out with some very cool people!"

2. What is your least favorite aspect of the role?
"I have a crummy crystal ball and always get nervous when trying to guess how many people will attend so that our awesome caterers know how much food to prepare. Pretty please everyone - it really helps us if you don't wait until the last minute to get your tickets!"

3. What do you look forward to at each event?
"Every year we get feedback something like "I didn't think Topic X would be interesting, but it turned out to be my favorite talk of the evening." And it's a different topic for different folks. The broad array of speakers and ideas, a signature component of our event, seems to really resonate with our audience."

4. Be honest, what is the largest number of delicious TedxStCloud sugar cookies you have eaten in a single evening?
"Well, I get "Early Access" to the cookies, so I have an unfair advantage. I believe a well-balanced diet is a cookie in both hands. I'm going to go with six cookies in one day. That's my final answer..."

10/03/2024

One week from showtime! Our event team from Husky Agency at SCSU Mass Communications picked up staff tees, audience merchandise, and banners today. Special thanks to our fiscal host — Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation —for receiving our shipments!

10/03/2024

TEDxStCloud is run completely by volunteers, each year countless new and returning faces share their time, effort and talents to bring you an amazing event. Kate Randall is this year's Graphic Design Intern, and is responsible for creating the 2024 logo, (YES!) as well as countless ads, billboards, posters and more.

A big thanks to Kate and previous interns for sharing their artistic talents!

Kate is a senior at St. Cloud State University and will graduate this December with a degree in Professional Communications !

In addition to Interning with TedxStCloud she is the Strategic Communications Intern for the Department of Mass Communications & Film at SCSU as well as the SCSU Sports Communication Career Conference Coordinator.

Her favorite part of the logo design process was trying out all the different avenues and themes for the logo. "I think I made close to 20 different logo drafts! The creativity involved was a lot of fun!"

10/02/2024

Our featured artists are a huge part of what makes TedxStCloud each year, and we are thrilled to be welcoming to the stage some of Saint John's Preparatory School students this year for two performances. Thank you to all of the students who are taking part.

"Proven Guilty" is an original murder mystery play written by Annika Dauer, St. John's Prep ’25. On All Hallow’s Eve of 1995, a dinner party is held at the Upstate New York manor of Dr. Julian Fox: the enigmatic millionaire and owner of the Sunrise Sentinel, known for its dedication to exposing corruption amidst the high ranking members of government. By the end of the night, the media mogul would be dead, and not a soul alive can tell what really happened. Now, it’s up to Detective Inspector Ethel Carter and her dedicated team of officers to sort out the truth locked within the twisting halls of memory. The catch? All of the suspects are firmly convinced that they themselves are to blame.

“The Last Five Years” is a heartwarming and poignant musical that beautifully chronicles the five-year relationship between two young New Yorkers, told in a unique and captivating narrative structure. A student-led theatre capstone project from this past summer, it showcases the incredible talents and dedication of two St. John's Prep students, Elizabeth ’25 and Isaac ’26.

10/01/2024

TEDxStCloud wouldn't be possible without contributions made by several local organizations and businesses. Today, we are taking a moment to applaud our 2024 Sponsors.
Granite Partners
Leighton Media
Central MN Arts Board
Sandhill Communications
LocaliQ

Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation
Microbiologics
Park Industries
St. Cloud Live
Burnham Video & Event Productions
Central Minnesota Community Foundation
City of St. Cloud, MN
Coborn's
Great North Ventures
Initiative Foundation
Magnifi Financial
Myres Consulting
Rengel Printing Company
St. Cloud Financial Credit Union
T-Mobile Fiber Home Internet
YuppyPhoto