I love this question.
Why? I get excited. Words fail me. I blather on like a kid hyped up on candy and the promise of a new puppy. It's one of those experiences people annoy you with by saying "You *just* have to be there to know what it's like." Ignite Boulder describes itself as "a night of presentations with a twist." More on that here. If you ask me, it's a twist like a rollercoaster of ROTFLMAOs brought to you by pithy presenters armed with a microphone, an unrelenting Power Point slideshow, and hopefully enough brass to deliver cheeky yet educational information on topics that makes you go "huh!" to the usually sold-out, 750-seat auditorium. Past topics included "Food Porn: Behind the Lens" by photographer Jen Yu, "How to Jump Off a Cliff" by climber Steph Davis and "Reward and Risk" by extreme adventure videographer Michael Brown. You can catch all the past presentations here. I also love that Ignite Boulder relies solely on word of mouth and social media avenues to sell out the Boulder Theater, in addition to pre- and post- events. Impressive, no?
The Leeds School wanted to get involved this time around because it seemed like we already were well-represented at past Ignite Boulder events: One of our faculty, Pete McGraw, presented on the tongue-in-cheek topic "From Wrong to Funny," (research on humor) and we saw in the seats a few familiar faces of faculty, staff, alumni (past presenter and predictor of the pow Joel Gratz, for example) and students hobnobbing with the best and brightest minds of Boulder.
I've only attended two Ignite Boulder events so far (they occur every two months) and despite being a rather behind-the-scenes kind of gal, I always leave Ignite Boulder dreaming about possible topics that lil' ole me could present because I do indeed catch the spark that is Ignite Boulder. I feel like the crowd wants you to succeed, or least they support you as you flounder gloriously in your speech or the timing of unforgiving slides. I have a theory that presenting at Ignite Boulder is kind of like karaoke: you just gotta find your song/topic and then rock the hell out of it. Which we plan to do as a sponsor of what is becoming a must-attend event in the Boulder community. Got a great idea of how we can do that? Let us know! And stay tuned for more about our sponsorship of #Igneight Boulder ...
...... in the meantime, buy your tickets here (only $10, yo) and vote for the presenters you'd like to see here.
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