The Discovery Lecture is a fifteen-to-thirty-minute presentation, similar to a Ted-Talk, where high schoolers speak about a topic they are passionate about and are willing to teach. This option provides a great public speaking opportunity for high schoolers, and it allows a group of foster youth to discover new passions along with a way to pursue it. For this reason, we encourage volunteers specialized in disciplinary/extracurricular subjects (i.e., video game design, biotechnology, knitting, etc.) to sign up. 

The work put into the presentation will count as a minimum of two volunteer service hours (additional minutes will be accounted for on an individual assessment if you believe you put in extra work). After submitting a Discovery Lecture Request, we will send out an interest form to our caregivers. Once there is submitted interest from at least five students, we will send you a confirmation, and you can begin preparations. Sign-ups will be taken in chronological order, and volunteers will receive at least two weeks to prepare. Between the confirmation and the actual presentation, you will meet up with the Umlaut Board at least twice to practice presenting and receive critique (this time will be added to the two volunteer hours). Discovery Lectures are new for Umlaut, so please stay patient as we work out some of the finer details.