Creating the King Talks: Opportunities for Graduate Students to Speak Their Passion
Civic Engagement Administrators in Graduate and Professional Student Services Mid-Level
How do you create an event for the Martin Luther King Symposium that is engaging, different, builds tradition, and gives students an immersive and valuable educational experience? Although this may seem like a tall order, The Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan has created an event that checks all those boxes.
The King Talks were created to meet graduate student demand for opportunities to develop robust public speaking skills. Based on the annual theme for the MLK Symposium at the University of Michigan, King Talks give students the opportunities to present 11-13 minute TED style talks that blends their passion and their research in a format that is both entertaining and educational. Now in its second year, this live briefing will present the process used to recruit and train speakers, build campus partnerships, and create a memorable annual event. Preliminary data from participants as well as lessons learned will also be shared.
Learning Outcomes
By participating in this session, attendees will:
- understand how a communal experience deepens connection to campus for graduate students; and
- learn practical strategies for helping graduate students integrate theory, research, and communication skills.