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Spring 2022 Speaker Lineup

Dr. Jay Jayaraman

VCU Faculty

How Old are You?

Dr. Jayaraman is a Pediatric Dentist, Scientist, and social entrepreneur. In addition to his primary clinical expertise in pediatric oral surgery, his research interests are in human biology, anthropology, and forensic dentistry, particularly on age estimation from teeth. Considering inadequacies in birth registration practices, in 2013, he started Date of Birth Foundation, the world's first charity to promote accurate birth records that has established collaboration in different countries. Dr. Jayaraman is currently Associate Professor of Pediatric Dentistry at the VCU School of Dentistry, Richmond, Virginia.

What's the best compliment you've ever received?

"It was in New Orleans sometime in 2016. I finished an interview and was shopping at a grocery store. A woman came all the way from the other end to tell me 'You look dapper.' This is probably one of the best compliments I had, amongst others."

What makes you smile the most?

"My little patients! I start smiling inadvertently the moment I see them in my dental office."

Cynthia Ong

VCU Professional Student

Redefining How We Love

Cynthia Ong is currently a second-year medical student at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. While she attributes all of her success to the love, support, and opportunities provided to her by the sacrifices of her first-generation immigrant parents, she also acknowledges the struggles associated with growing up in this household dynamic. As a future physician, she wishes to one day inspire others to live their lives to the fullest potential, and hopes that this TEDx Talk is another means to do just that.

What's the best compliment you've ever received?

"'I started to do X because you do X.' One friend told me she started writing unsent letters about her ex to channel her emotions because writing letters helped me process my previous breakups. Another friend told me that he started to hold his knife the way I hold a knife because he saw me do it when I cooked for him. When people change their mindset or habits because of something I have said or done, even if it's something really small, it makes me feel like I'm genuinely making an impact on those around me."

What makes you smile the most?

"Random acts of kindness."

Ira Birch

VCU Graduate Student

How the Singularity will Help you Change your Oil

Ira Birch is an artist and creative technologist. They are a candidate for a Masters of Science at the VCU Brandcenter. In their free time, they can generally be found in a swamp.

What's the best compliment you've ever received?

"Someone once called me the most interesting person they ever met."

What makes you smile the most?

"Absurdity"

Madeline Narkinsky

VCU Undergraduate Student

The Autistic Dialect

Madeline Narkinsky is a senior studying supply chain management at VCU. They are the author of "Surviving School for the Autistic Teen."

He spends his free time playing a ridiculous amount of cookie clicker and writing short stories along with bad poetry.

What's the best compliment you've ever received?

"Resilient"

What makes you smile the most?

"The thing that makes me smile the most is people taking photos."

Chris Mayfield

VCU Community Member

Wanna Be a Hope Dealer?

Chris Mayfield is the founder of a leadership and organizational development consulting firm, Profusion Consulting. Chris has nearly twenty years of experience in private sector companies, including QVC, Circuit City, and Louis Berger International, and was the COO of a handicap accessible vehicle manufacturing company. Chris is a retired Marine Corps Logistics Officer, having served for 24 years, including tours in Somalia and Iraq.

Chris and his wife Holly, an attorney, have five children between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-nine. In his free time, Chris likes to work on his hobby farm, interview interesting people on his radio show, Venmo money to his kids, and likes to create presentations that allow him to share with others-especially veterans- his knowledge and expertise in business planning and leadership.

What's the best compliment you've ever received?

"Over the last several months, I have worked with two community partners, Podium RVA and Word-of-Mouth Social club, to collect contributions for The Big Book of Hope. The Big Book of Hope is a collection of essays from students, entrepreneurs, and leaders in the Richmond community. Each contribution is a 300 to 500-word essay about what gives that individual hope for the future. This book will be sold as a fundraiser for Podium RVA, a nonprofit that provides literacy programs for school-aged children in my community.

"Two weeks ago, I received an email from a leader at Podium RVA. This leader told me that I had inspired the Podium RVA staff to begin meetings with 5 minutes of hope. Being recognized as inspirational is a genuine compliment."

What makes you smile the most?

"My wife, Holly, makes me smile. She challenges me to be better and is my biggest cheerleader. Seemingly without effort, she helps me through what sometimes feels like impossible moments. She is my biggest confidant and critic. She's a great partner in business and life. Perhaps most importantly, she gives me grace. She accepts who I am and continues to love and support me despite my many faults. It is that love and grace that makes me smile."

Kirthana Srinivasan

VCU Undergraduate Student

Let Me Pick Your Brain

Kirthana Srinivasan is a poised young lady who has endured the unexplainable. It is a medical miracle that her brain is functioning. She was an unsolved case that medical students looked at for extra credit. She stumped the leading doctors of national football teams. All because of a seemingly innocuous fall she took to her head while dancing for charity. She was hospitalized most of her senior year of high school unable to stand, talk, see, or think.

She leads her life with a simplistic, well-rounded, and positive mindset. She is a fighter and creative thinker. Kirthana is an empowering leader whose sole purpose in life is to inspire and impact people. Her charisma is contagious and compassion is selfless.

Pre-fall, she held an impressive resume having gone to school at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and Stone Bridge HS. Her notable achievements include interning at the University of Virginia School of Medicine Department of Cardiac Surgery at the age of 16, earning a First Place National Title in Mathematics, and assisting in Government Consulting project work.

Now, post-fall, she continues to somehow uphold an even more impressive resume. She is a third year undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University who is scheduled to graduate this spring with a BS in Bioinformatics and concentration in Computational Sciences. She is conducting soon-to-be published independent research in the field of Medical Entomology. Kirthana is the President of the Undergraduate Society of Bioinformatics, Vice President of the Center for Health and Human Rights, and the Young Adult Representative for an internationally renowned spiritual and service-oriented community. In addition, she is the founder and director of Tapasya Academy of Dance, a classical Indian dance institution.

What's the best compliment you've ever received?

"Beauty isn't just looks, it's how you tackle new challenges and deal with old ones. You're beautiful, Kirthana."

What makes you smile the most?

"Babies when they laugh hysterically!"