On Turlington Plaza, Brandon Telg held a sign that read, “Tell me your story for $1.”
The sign was to promote his nonprofit organization, Self Narrate, which is a storytelling group in Gainesville.
In the Fall, they will hold a one-day conference at UF where people will speak about their experiences within their professional industries to help others learn.
The UF graduate said he and his co-founder, Jaron Jones, wanted to make an organization that would help the Gainesville community.
“I had an identity crisis in college because I didn’t know who I wanted to be,” Telg said. “Our conference is going to make students realize that everything is a learning experience.”
The conference is called Story:GNV 2017, and it will take place Oct. 21 in Heavener Hall in the Warrington College of Business Administration.
There will be nine guest speakers who will talk about business, health and education.
“It’s about people who are passionate about sharing what they do and what they want to do better with those who don’t know where to start,” Telg said.
He said there will be activities between sessions to provide a networking opportunity for participants.
Lisa D’souza, the director of the Warrington College Career and Leadership program, said Telg reached out to her about speaking in the conference because of a story-based project she made for freshman business students.
She said her speech, “Teaching Diversity and Resilience Through Story,” will be on teaching her students about diversity and failure.
D’souza said she chose Heavener Hall as the location for her project and suggested the conference be in the same place.
“A traditional college experience is one of many ‘firsts’ for my students,” she said. “I’d like for attendees to incorporate what they learn from these stories into their work and lives.”
