“We need to evolve – the solution is being creative.”

When prompted on a solution to our society’s current crisis for creativity, Christina Oelsner, the 2012-2013 NCIIA Student Ambassador, highlighted the need for individuality and student-led initiatives in our culture now more than ever.

As a National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance Ambassador for Wake Forest as well as a member of the Alpha Kappa Psi Business Fraternity, sophomore Christina Oelsner understands the benefits of creativity in the workforce. Although she is planning on applying to the business school, Oelsner greatly appreciates the Entrepreneurship & Social Enterprise Minor because of its "importance and availability for every major in our liberal arts education." Not only a good choice but a necessary one. Oelsner believes that the smartest way to support one’s self starts with one’s own ideas applied in a novel and useful way.

As for her duties as the 2012-13 NCIIA Ambassador to Wake Forest, Oelsner plans to host TEDxWakeForestU taking place on campus on February, 23 2013. The TEDx conference is designed to encourage innovation and entrepreneurial activities in the Piedmont community and within the Wake Forest community. Last year’s theme focused on “Technological Innovation, Social Impact, and the Entrepreneurial Venture” and hosted over 1,000 attendees. Making a head start on preparations, she is actively engaged in fundraising for the 2013 Wake Forest TEDx as an independently, student-run venture. Not a newcomer to leadership, Oelsner will also host monthly meetings with other students as well as analyze campus needs and discover new resources to fulfill those needs.

A native of Charleston, South Carolina, Oelsner is also a member of the Dean’s List here at Wake Forest and helps promote awareness to our university’s resources by  being an advocate to the Center for Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship.