Attendance at today's TEDx more than double

YOUNGSTOWN

Jamie Marich took her place at the red, round rug on stage of the dimly lit theater.

“How many of you have seen [the film] ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’?” she asked the audience of more than 230 people.

She mentioned a character from the film who traced any English word back to its Greek origin. She subtly slid into the word “trauma,” which derives from the Greek word meaning “wound.”

Marich, a clinical counselor at Mindful Ohio, was the first speaker for the second year of TEDx-Youngstown. The event took place today at Ford Theater in Bliss Hall at Youngstown State University.

TED — Technology, Entertainment and Design — started in the 1980s and continues as a series of conferences around the world. The “x” means the event is independently organized.

Today's event featured 14 speakers from areas of human trafficking, bioethics, alternative protein, 3-D printing and sexual orientation. The theme was breaking boundaries.

Marich, a YSU alumna, talked about her experiences as an English teacher in Bosnia from 2000 to 2003 and how it led to a career in clinical counseling.

Another speaker was Chris Jennings, an English teacher at Canfield High School, who also teaches journalism.

Some speakers did more than just talking. In the third segment was Jason Alan, a professional magician. He said he had the option to talk about magic or perform.

“We decided to do both,” he said.

Lorilyn Shandor, coordinator of the event, said the event had more than double the number of people in attendance compared with last year.

Read the complete story in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.