TRANSFORM speaker series: Bryan Kett

Bryan Kett was overjoyed when he found out he would be speaking at TEDxPasadena’s 2018 event. So overjoyed that he thinks he spilled his tea.

“I’m anxious, but in a good way,” he said about the upcoming event on Sept. 22. “It’s great to have something on the horizon to write towards.”

Bryan is a writer and storyteller originally from the Midwest who now lives in Los Angeles. He was born outside of Chicago and studied in college to become a high school science teacher, obtaining his bachelor’s degree in biology and education. He went on to teach high school science in Chicago, and after his first year, signed up for writing classes at Second City, an improv comedy theater. He fell in love with writing and then attended graduate school to obtain a master’s degree in creative writing.

He said he was inspired to apply to become a speaker at this year’s event after a friend, who met TEDxPasadena Executive Director Heather Brunold at a dinner, encouraged him to do so.

“I’m so thrilled that I did,” he said. “I relish any opportunity to fuse science with personal narrative, and doing so on a TEDx stage is a dream realized.”

When he takes the stage in September, Bryan will talk about his experience with colorblindness, the science behind the condition, and how relative perspective is for everyone.

“I didn’t choose colorblindness,” he said. “Colorblindness chose me. It’s something that people always ask me about, and this seemed like a wonderful forum to address those questions and misconceptions on a much larger scale.”

Through his TEDxPasadena Talk, Bryan hopes people will be entertained by his story, be informed scientifically, and experience a shift in perspective that they can share with others long after his talk is finished.