At this year’s State of the University Address, hosted on Sept. 1, Student Body President Kathryn Edmunds decided to switch up the agenda by giving the students a Florida Atlantic version of a Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) talk.

TED talks are presentations that showcase “great ideas” in 18 minutes or less on topics varying from the sciences to the arts, according to TED’s website.

Instead of the usual speech given by the Student Body President about the current state and future plans for the university, students shared personal stories meant to inspire change with around 200 of their peers.

Here is a roundup of the night’s presenters:

AARON SHAPIRO

Shapiro is commonly known around campus as an announcer for University sporting events. But he was not always so outgoing.

Shapiro shared his story of dealing with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and how after suffering a torn meniscus, he had to stop playing college basketball. He played at Wofford College in South Carolina.

He spoke about struggling in school before overcoming his obstacles – at one point he failed 13 classes, but eventually graduated summa cum laude from FAU. He also talked about his newfound love of communication and has started his own communication consulting company, Pozz Comm LLC.  

CHAD COARSEY

Born with knuckles, but not fingers on his left hand, Coarsey learned to live around his condition. But after meeting graduate student Charles Weinthal at FAU, Coarsey was presented with the opportunity to actually build a hand.

Together, the two were able to construct a robotic hand for Coarsey and use FAU High School’s 3D printer – a printer that uses a melted, plastic filament to construct objects – to build it.

Now, they are working on their non-profit dedicated to building prosthetics for children with similar conditions.

NATHANIEL DELEROE

Deleroe, the most recent winner of Apollo Night – an on-campus talent show – presented a poem that told the story of how he witnessed his father get shot dead.

He continued to artistically describe how he struggled to stay out of trouble and eventually turned to religion as a refuge. Deleroe received a standing ovation for his performance.

NDJUMA JOSEPH

Wheelchair bound and blind, music education major Ndjuma Joseph overcame adversity to achieve her dream of becoming a music teacher.

Music had always been her passion, and wanting to be a music teacher in Florida meant that she would have to learn all instruments ranging from strings to woodwind. However, she had to do so by reading music written in braille – something that FAU employees are not trained in. Still, she has been successful in her studies.

Along with telling her story, she sang “This Little Light of Mine,” and also received a standing ovation for her presentation.

OCEANE BOULAIS

Originally bound for Broadway, Boulais found a passion for research as she appeased her parents and began to take engineering courses. She found art in her work, saying that Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) should really be STEAM – the “A” standing for art.

She told a story about how thinking creatively, or artistically, has helped her evolve as an engineer.

In her freshman year alone, she was published twice and competed in two state symposiums. In 2014, she won the Extreme Engineer award.

Her previous TEDx Talk can be viewed here.

TREVOR DAVIS

Davis told a story of how he went from being a thriving college student to having his financial aid taken away from him. This forced him to leave Montana State University, leaving him without a place to stay. On top of that, he was unable to afford to go home.

He shared how he moved from couch to couch, feeling like a “mooch” as time went on. He continued his story, talking about how he eventually moved into a “shack” in the woods, experiencing winter nights that would leave him with minor frostbite because the shack did not include basic necessities like heating.

Wanting to prove himself an adult, he refused to ask for help. After a year and a half, he was able to save money by working odds and ends jobs and go home. He now refers to FAU as his home.

In the end, his message was meant to urge those who need help to ask for it, like he should’ve done.

JAN BEDNAR

As the winner of last year’s Tech Runway – a business plan competition that offers mentoring from established entrepreneurs, Bednar – an international student from Europe – was able to take his company Bedabox to the next level.

Bedabox is a worldwide shipping company that was established to easily process and ship international packages.

Bednar’s success story encouraged other aspiring entrepreneurs to find a problem and create a solution.

AMANDA CACAPAVA

Cacapava shared her story of being an undocumented student from Brazil to share her message that every student should have equal opportunity.

She spoke of how she was treated equally in America, which she referred to as the “land of opportunity,” compared to the rest of her older family members, who were treated differently because of their thick accents and features that were considered foreign.

Cacapava believed that her story should inspire others to fight for equal opportunity for all, including immigrants.

TRENT KSIONEK

Ksionek, the president of Owls Racing, spoke of a moment when the team ran into difficulty right before competition time and had to overcome obstacles.

Right before the 2015 Formula Society of Automotive Engineers Michigan competition at which they would go head-to-head with schools including Duke, Cornell and Columbia, trouble arose with the vehicle. The team scrambled to find the issue and fix it.

Fortunately for them, they established where the complication was coming from, and were able to work together and repair the vehicle enough so that they placed at no. 24 out of 118 schools – the best FAU has ever placed.

AIME KAVANGA

Kavanga was the final presenter of the night. Before telling his story, he was presented with the 2015 Student Impact Award for overcoming hardship and starting his own charity project, Everyday Hope.

Kavanga told the story of how he watched his family be murdered in his home in the Democratic Republic of Congo – only he and his younger brother surviving. Together, they travelled to Uganda where they had to fend for themselves. Eventually, they were able to move to the United States.

Kavanga struggled to adapt to the culture in America. He made light of his story, laughing about how in the Congo only cows ate vegetables, so he refused to eat them at his foster house as he was not a cow.

Over time though, Kavanga acclimated and was inspired to help others who are in similar situations as he was back home. Through Everyday Hope, Kavanga hopes to provide refugee children with education, medical resources and all of the necessary tools for them to be successful.

At the end of the night, Edmunds gave a few closing statements about how she is a believer in the students and hopes that all push to “be the change.” She did not talk about her plans for the university as previous student body presidents have done. For more on that, check back to upressonline.com.