Ayoka Chenzira at TEDxAtlanta 2019

Meet Speaker Ayoka Chenzira

What is your passion?

Figuring out how to do things that I want to do but don’t know how to do.

How did you decide to pursue your current career?

As a child, I was drawn to storytelling while listening to women’s stories in my mother’s beauty parlor and later trained in filmmaking at New York University. As an adolescent, when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I could never settle on one thing much to the concern of those who had my best interests at heart. When I became aware that filmmaking would allow me to incorporate my varied interests into one discipline, I declared myself a filmmaker. My family thought – thank goodness, she’s finally found something — and then followed up with more concern — what is filmmaking? It’s a big playground where the ideas in my mind and heart find enough space to breathe.

What did you learn about yourself during the process of preparing your talk?

Confirmation that I’m a rabbit hole person. I enjoy going very deeply into subject explorations. It’s as though I am constantly building my own chose your own adventure story. As a result, I have come up with techniques to bring me back into the main storyline.

What drives you in challenging times?

Being curious with a tenacious spirit and an ability to visualize how to work with a challenge. I call on this combination when faced with barriers.

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Author: Creative Corp, TEDxAtlanta