Theme: In Pursuit of Harmony

St. Lawrence University represents a vibrant community hub where students, faculty, and the public come together to share valuable knowledge and gain new experiences.

Each and every member of the community has a unique mindset and a set of values that contribute to the fascinating mosaic of ideas and views that St. Lawrence University pulsates with. Diversity and difference have great potential to unite masses that may share seemingly little in common. They however have the potential to cause divide, too, and we must work towards achieving harmony among many opposing forces within and around us.

What do we mean by harmony and why is it so important to us?
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Harmony comes in various shapes and forms, and as an abstract concept it can be interpreted in numerous ways. We, the TEDxStLawrenceU team, are all about finding ways to promote harmony in the campus community, the environment, and to initiate a long-needed dialogue. For a peaceful coexistence, we believe that harmony is crucial.

Is there, however, a lesson to be learnt from when harmony is absent? Can we even achieve harmony? A variety of exceptional speakers will come to share their insights into how harmony, or the absence thereof, relates to their fields of expertise, and how we can take their findings even further and implement them in our everyday lives. Come get inspired and prepare for a journey of exploration. Join the movement in pursuit of harmony.

Griffith's Arts Center
Romoda Drive
Canton, New York, 13617
United States

Abigail Smith

Student Speaker

Abi is a sophomore at St. Lawrence University planning on double majoring in Business in the Liberal Arts and Communications with a minor in Spanish. She is one of three Vilas Scholars in her grade. Most recently, she has become a Campus Correspondent for the St Lawrence Chapter of Her Campus, the #1 global community and website for college women. Abi is also a member of the Women's Varsity Squash Team.

Adam Hill

Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Dr. Adam Hill is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at St. Lawrence University, where he researches new materials with applications in renewable energy. He received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, where he used infrared lasers to study molecular motions during chemical reactions. He is an avid photographer and drone pilot, and faculty mentor to the Photo Club and the Riding Team.

Alyssa Stahrr

Student Speaker

Alyssa is a 19-year-old sophomore student at St. Lawrence University, majoring in science. Growing up in Syracuse, New York she played soccer and lacrosse until switching to rowing in college. At school, Alyssa works hard academically as well as athletically to create a successful school environment. At home, Alyssa is a lacrosse coach for a local youth club.

Anabel Encarnacion

Student Speaker

Anabel Encarnación, or A. for short, is a senior student studying psychology at St. Lawrence University. Anabel is a proud Dominicana who currently lives between her home land, Dominican Republic, and the Bronx. She finds herself intrigued by the field of psychology and its almost infinite application to any part of the human experience. Specifically, Anabel is interested in topics of race and ethnic relations and its effect on basic human psychological processes. Based on such interest, she has decided to base her SYE on the psychological implications of denying blackness. Her cultural and ethnic background have heavily molded Anabel's persona.

Deena McCullough

Alumna '84

Deena is a third generation president/CEO of Northern Insuring Agency, Inc. A 1984 cum laude graduate of SLU, she holds the Certified Insurance Counselor and Certified Risk Manager designations and is a Gestalt Professional Certified Coach. Favorite personal passions include learning new skills, swimming, skiing, photography and travelling.

Hannah Van Sickle

Alumna '96

Hannah Van Sickle Barrett ‘96 is a freelance writer who hails from the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts. After graduating from St. Lawrence University, where she was a member of KDS and a participant in the Vienna semester abroad program, she moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts where she spent two years as a personal assistant to acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma. She eventually followed the path, tread by her parents before her, to a boarding school in the Berkshires where she became a teacher. After more than ten years teaching English, in both public and private high schools, Hannah turned her attention to raising a family of three daughters while concurrently earning her Master’s degree from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Today, she can be found working with students as an academic tutor at Berkshire School, mentoring individuals through the college application process as a writing coach, and writing for several regional publications including Berkshire Magazine

Jeffrey McLean

Posdoctoral Fellow

Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Statistics

Karim Creary

Student Speaker

Karim Creary is an international economics and Spanish combined major of the Class of 2017. He was born and raised on the island of Bermuda until the age of 15, when he received a scholarship to study at United World College Costa Rica for 2 years. Bermuda is a very small island, being only 23 square miles long, but it is packed full of various cultures due to the importance of international business to the island. The size of the island forces these cultures to interact often so there is a sense of harmony, perhaps somewhat false, that is necessary for there not to be civil unrest. In his talk he hopes to outline what he has learned, from his personal human experience, is necessary to foster harmony.

Lauren Liebhaber

Alumna '12

Lauren Liebhaber is a graduate of St. Lawrence University’s class of 2012. Lauren currently works as the Manager of Development and Student Recruitment for Excel Academy, a network of charter schools serving the low-income communities of East Boston and Chelsea, MA. Lauren also works as a freelance writer and photographer. An admirer of stories from an adolescence spent listening to them around her kitchen table, Lauren is a proponent for the transformative power of storytelling. Believing that at the heart of everything we do is a story that compels us, one of Lauren’s greatest joys is to find it and share it.

Rutendo Chabikwa

Student Speaker

Rutendo Chabikwa is a Zimbabwean student at St. Lawrence University who enjoys traveling and meeting new people. She believes that everyone has a lesson to teach. She is an avid reader and a writer of sorts and enjoys engaging in various social justice projects.