During the middle of last fall quarter, DePaul’s Student Leadership Institute (SLI) thought of a creative way for students to develop their leadership skills. While brainstorming innovative ways for SLI to interact with their members and the campus at large, Alicia Koch, the group’s leadership development coordinator, Fran Rugo, administrative assistant, and several other members thought of ways to make Tuesdays more exciting. The group came up with idea to host #TEDTalkTuesday, a recurring event that allows students to see inspirational, leadership-related TED Talks and discuss the video while incorporating their leadership experiences.

“It really started for students to have a conversation about leadership and finding what it means to be a social responsible leader,” Rugo said. “It’s for them to have a conversation and hang out.”

The Student Leadership Institute wanted to come up with an event that could be open to all students and be a place where they could meet others. Leadership skills are definitely something to be valued, and Aiden Bettine, junior leadership development coordinator, enjoys the array of stories students share.

“I think the value of #TEDTalkTuesday is really that it’s a way for students to engage with leadership in a different way,” Bettine said. “Something I enjoyed about TED Talks Tuesday is the breadth of experiences that people come to the table with.”

Last Tuesday students watched “The Power of Introverts” by Susan Cain, author of “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.” In her discussion, she explains how today’s culture glorifies being social and outgoing and the difficulties of being an introvert. She argues that introverts are quite talented and should be encouraged.

Her takeaway was: stop the madness for constant group work, go to wilderness and be like Buddha and take a look at what’s inside your suitcase. She explained that it’s great to exchange conversation in a work setting, but individuals need to learn how to work on their own.

When Cain suggested that audience members “be like Buddha,” she meant that individuals should learn to unplug. She believes it’s a great way for individuals to get inside their own head, and it’s important for both introverts and extroverts to do. Lastly, she used the phrase “looking inside your suitcase” as a metaphor to inspire the audience members to look inside themselves. She believes introverts and extroverts should show their talents and be proud of who they are.

Rugo and Bettine are at most TED Talk Tuesdays and welcome all guests. They’ve both learned a lot from each video and even have some favorites.

“The ‘Every City Needs Healthy Honey Bees’ was my favorite TED Talk. It was a little different, and it linked to one of our pillars for being a socially responsible leader, which is ‘contributing to a larger community,” Bettine said. “What we talk about, most often, we miss that environmental piece.”

“I like them all. It’s so hard to pick one because each one has their own story,” Rugo said. “I can’t say there’s one because I learn something new from every one I view.”

The next #TEDTalkTuesday event will be held at 4 p.m. at the Lincoln Park Student Center Suite 302. They’re typically 30 minutes long and if you’re unable to make it, check out their hashtag #TEDTalkTuesday to see what the Student Leadership Institute TED Talk of the week is.