Fingers tapping, shoes bouncing, eyes wandering-- the room vibrated with a nervous energy. The six speakers who would be pitching their ideas to the NYU audience sat in the front row talking with one another, trying to distract themselves from the speeches they were about to give. Each had spent months honing in on the high points they wanted to discuss, whittling down their passions until condensed into a five-minute speech, and not a second longer. Last Monday night, TEDxNYU gave these students the opportunity to say their piece in front of a small audience and three judges who would decide which speaker would win a spot to speak at the annual conference in the Spring. This year, the TEDxNYU's conference theme was "On the Brink," which required each speaker to tailor their speech to exploring crucial tipping points in various fields.

1. Jennifer C. Weston-Murphy

The first speaker of the night was Jennifer C. Weston-Murphy, an MBA student at Stern. Passionate about how business can help the world move forward, rather than bring it back, Jennifer focused her talk on how more businesses are 'on the brink' of contributing to more social efforts, and how doing so can encourage consumers to buy their products. Though I am not too familiar with the business-side of the world, Jen explained that businesses in the modern world have to worry about much more than making a profit -- they have stockholders, employees, consumer preferences, and factors like the environment to consider. Brands like TOMS and New Belgium Craft Brewery, whose own mission statement states that they want to prove “business can be a force for good,” have already started contributing to the world, whether that is through supplying a pair of shoes to those in need for every pair purchased or through allowing employees to have their own share in the business they helped create. But for companies to move past just being ‘on the brink’ of social responsibility, consumers have to demand change. Millennials, specifically, already heavily engaged in social impact, by demanding the goods they consume to be from brands dedicated to creating social impact, especially because “by 2025, millennials will make up 77% of the workforce.” More companies are expanding their considerations to include the bigger picture, Jen says. It is our job as consumers to help them make this change happen.

2. Marta Migó Cortés

Marta Migó Cortés, at NYU to study Theatre and Psychology, followed Jen with a talk about Catalonia’s current push for independence from Spain, but how the country is blocking a referendum from allowing the “autonomous community” to vote. Spain’s block against this vote needs to be recognized as a socio-cultural issue, rather than solely a political one. Catalans have their own art, food, dialect, and culture separate from Spain. In every other sense of the word, they are their own country. But Spain’s history of oppression against the Catalans has prevented the group from being recognized this way. Since becoming part of Spain in the fifteenth century, due to the marriage of King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castille, Catalonia has been victim to Spain’s bullying, with Catalans keeping silent about injustice out of fear of punishment or death by the government. Today, little has changed in terms of Spain’s bullying, as Marta insists that there is a “disconnect between the Catalans and Spanish government.” Marta opened her speech by stating that even she, a Catalan herself, does not know if separating from Spain is the right move, but she still recognizes that her community has a right to vote. In a world where the maltreatment of minorities has occurred everywhere and for long periods of time, the knowledge of Catalonia’s predicament is not new. However, it is important, and Marta is here to make sure we don’t forget about the place she calls home. “Catalonia may be small, but we know what we want and we are going to fight peacefully for it.”

3. Tim Nugmanov

After Marta, Tim Nugmanov stepped up to the stage. A sophomore at Gallatin, Tim founded Fit A.I., a sports technology that helps athletes optimize training and sports performance. As an entrepreneur himself, Tim focused his talk breaking barriers into entrepreneurship. When building a startup, Tim says, you have to consider multiple factors. “You have to find a great idea, a cofounder, and a lot of money.” And even if you happen to have all of these components, 90% of startups are doomed to fail. According to Tim, it isn’t so hard to fit into this 10% of successful startups if you consider the 3 things that are shifting in entrepreneurship: Value, Methodology, and Infrastructure. In the age of the entrepreneurship, investors have stopped solely seeking profit and have looked to value. What is the goal of your startup? How will it contribute to the world? Tim gave the example of Mark Zuckerberg, who wanted to create an “open and connected Facebook” and Elon Musk who “wants to increase sustainability” (“and go to Mars,” Tim joked). If your company doesn’t have a component that makes it valuable and worthy of investment, the chances of its success are not high.

The next shift Tim observed is in Methodology, which is defined as a set of practices or broad principles that are used to solve and interpret problems. Tim says that most companies fail because they lack these principles that make problem-solving a snap. Finally, Tim discussed Infrastructure, and how the world is becoming friendlier to budding entrepreneurs. Since 1985, the percentage of college classes teaching infrastructure have increased 1900%, “with 250 classes being taught at NYU alone,” Tim winked. These classes are not the only instance where colleges are helping students learn how to build successful startups, though. Many colleges have programs and competitions that help companies with potential find money to lift them off the ground, like Dorm Room Fund. “You don’t have to follow the traditional career path in college,” Tim says, and programs like Dorm Room Fund help you try to follow your dreams without the possibility of losing everything.

4. Abby Lyall

The tech theme was continued with Abby Lyall, a junior at NYU’s Stern. Abby’s five-minutes focused on the evolving work environment and how jobs in technology are growing exponentially. You know how U.S. President-elect Donald Trump spent most of his campaign talking about the loss of jobs in middle America? Well, Abby admits, he’s not wrong, and “manufacturing jobs are in decline.” However, rather than trying to return to the America where people didn’t lose their manufacturing jobs (jobs that consist of a repetitive motion, such as building cardboard boxes) to machines, Abby wants to look at how people can train for positions in technology that need humans, not metal. After all, these already-lost jobs and five million more will disappear by 2020 and not be coming back. How can we combat this insane loss? By investing in education and training programs in areas that require human interaction. “We, as humans, can do things that machines cannot,” Abby insists. As hard as it is to accept, the way to move forward as a country is to realize that old jobs will not be coming back. We need to train for the future. In fact, 65% of millennials will be employed in jobs that do not exist yet. Investments in technology are not to be shunned but encouraged to ensure the safety of our future.

5. Vidyadhar V. (VD) Thatte

Vidyadhar V. (VD) Thatte, a junior at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering, focused his TEDx talk on how his app, Sentient Electronics, can be the forefront of sustainable health care to those who do not have access to doctors but do have access to smart phones. “It’s easier to get a movie ticket than to get an appointment with your doctor,” VD stated. “That could be fatal.” In a world where we are just not catching up to the needs in healthcare, VD has created an app that ensures the health of whoever uses it. Sentient Electronics works so that we are constantly monitoring our bodies and the factors that affect it, rather than only paying attention when something is wrong. With his app, VD makes sure that we are constantly tracking our bodies so that we can be up to date with our healthcare. While it may seem ideal now, VD says that technology is the future of healthcare, and Sentient Electronics is working hard to create this future, today.

6. Jonathan Chin

Our last speaker, Jonathan Chin, is a TEDxNYU regular, having talked about his app at the Oxfam Hunger Banquet a couple weeks ago. A graduate student at Steinhardt, Jonathan is known around NYU for the success of his app Share Meals, which aims to end hunger and social isolation at college campuses. For ‘The Pitch,’ however, Jonathan focused his talk on what artists and writers can do to spread the word about hunger in the world. Jon spoke about how he was inspired by the poets and writers he read during his own tough times and knows that artists are instrumental in documenting social problems. When one remembers the writers of the Depression -- like John Steinbeck, or the writers during the Red Scare -- like Arthur Miller, they remember the characters these people brought to life.

“If you’re an artist,” Jonathan said. “Let hunger be the thing that keeps you up at night.” Just because hunger is a widely-recognized problem in the world does not mean that we are actively seeking ways to end it. As with the Civil Rights Movement, the Holocaust, the Vietnam War, etc.-- we still need artists to represent where we honestly are in the world and how we can improve. So write, paint, and sculpt whatever you the issue of hunger inspires you to create, because you don’t know who in the world may be affected by your work. Jon ended his plea to artists with an honest admission: “I want to change people’s hearts [about hunger] and that can be done with art. I don’t know how, but I’ve got a lot of faith.”

And The Winner Is...

After the completion of these six interesting and well-thought-out talks, it was time for a winner, the one speaker who would be presenting his or her talk at TEDxNYU’s annual conference in April, to be announced. Considering the theme of the night and the subject matter, the three judges ended their deliberation period with a speaker in mind. Abby Lyall would be presenting her talk on technological advancement in the evolving job market in April. Though each speaker spoke with the knowledge and passion I deemed necessary to give a TEDx talk, Abby’s talk was truly ‘on the brink,’ in terms of the United States’ economy, and I am confident she will only continue to expand her talk until it perfectly sums up how we, as employees, can fit into the future job market.