Inaugural TEDxHightstown will feature four successful young speakers May 20
When speakers hit the stage for the inaugural TEDxHightstown, organizers hope their talks will inspire local youth and younger generations build upon or learn new ways to further their own ideas in business, life, education and social media.
The local TEDx talk will feature four speakers from 6-9 p.m. on May 20 at Melvin H. Kreps Middle School in Hightstown.
Deep Joshi, 21, who grew up in Hightstown and East Windsor, has been organizing the event since January with the help of Hightstown High School Spanish teacher Wilson Hernandez, co-organizer of TEDxHightstown, and student volunteers.
“I really enjoy the idea of TEDx and TED itself. I know something like this has been missing around town,” Joshi said. “I really like the idea of entrepreneurship. Why not bring ideas worth starting to Hightstown.”
For people interested in attending are asked to acquire tickets by May 1. Tickets are limited.
The theme for the TEDxHightstown talk is “The New Era.”
“The new generation that is coming up, which are people in my age category and people coming up, I feel like there are so many things that people can learn from these ideas,” Joshi said. “Because each speaker is bringing a specific topic they are speaking about, I think we need to look toward the future of what is coming up.”
The four speakers for the TEDx talk include Chhavi Verg, former 2017 Miss USA runner up and Miss New Jersey, Agam Pandit, former World Cup Cricket player, Salvatore Mandreucci (Sally Slices), an influencer and content creator, and Matthew Holsten, a physics teacher and former TV personality.
“What excites me the most is that all of (speakers) are very smart and talented. I have been following these people for so many years and enjoy the work they have done,” Joshi said.
Along with being a former Miss New Jersey and USA runner up, Verg is also a New-York based model, actress, content creator, and speaker. She is the first Indian-American to win the title of Miss New Jersey USA and continues in fashion and entertainment.
Verg is currently signed to Wilhelmina Models in NYC and has amassed close to 500,000 followers on her social media platforms.
“Agam Pandit is a former World Cup cricket player for India and a successful business entrepreneur,” Joshi said.
Pandit was a part of the Indian Cricket Team that won the first ever Junior World Cup in 1996 and a first-class Cricketer for Goa, according to Joshi. He is also a global business entrepreneur in renewable energy.
Joshi said one of his friends introduced him to Mandreucci.
“He has close to 5 million followers on TikTok,” Joshi noted. “I enjoy the way he motivates people to keep their head high and spreads a positive message.”
Between Instagram and TikTok, Mandreucci has 5.4 million followers. He is a content creator that also runs a family pizza business called “Marcellos.”
“Matthew Holsten is a former teacher of mine. I really like how he is in loved with the younger generations,” Joshi said. “He was one of smartest if not the smartest Science teacher I have ever encountered.”
Holsten had a role in the well-known TV show “Blue’s Clues” and the “Blue’s Big Musical Movie.” He was also named one of New Jersey’s Top 30 Teachers Under 30.
Joshi hopes the inaugural TEDxHightstown event will successfully kickoff to become an annual event in the borough.
“I really feel we have a lot of strong talent in this community. So, if the younger generation coming up can get the opportunity to listen to these speakers on stage it might inspire them,” he said. “Spreading a message of ‘if they can do it, I can do it too.’”
For more information visit https://www.ted.com/tedx/events/53060.