TEDx is coming to Cabrillo College’s own Crocker Theater on Saturday, April 13 and will feature 22 speakers over eight hours. Workshops will cover various topics ranging from scientific research to personal journeys with sexuality and identity, among others. 

This year’s theme is “Rising Together”, and event organizers invited speakers from various backgrounds and age groups, all centering their talks around this core theme — the idea of a community overcoming adversity. Speakers will each be allotted up to 18 minutes to complete their talks, and were chosen by a selection committee based on their ideas, their speaking styles and the theme of the event. 

A few of the speakers include: Madeline Aliah, an 18-year-old transgender poet who’s talk will draw on her upbringing in both Christianity and Ismaili Islam, Luna HighJohn-Bey, the Historian in Residence at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, and Terry Carr, an industrial designer who focuses on eco-friendly products and clean energy innovation. 

TEDxSantaCruz has held 15 events since 2011, and this is the fifth all-day live event. It is sold out, but it will also be live streamed through a link on their website. The goal of TEDx events are to connect with small communities and spark discussion within them.