Leneisa Parks shared the tales of triumph and woe of underrepresented communities and how individuals and groups built their own narratives and chose to reject narratives that were created for them. She presented about the art of storytelling, and explained that there is power in our own books of life where we must choose to be authors, and not just readers. Leneisa Parks, student success specialist in graduate studies at Missouri S&T, has worked closely with ethnic minorities, international populations, low-socioeconomic status communities, and mentally and physically disabled youth throughout her career and world travels. Parks earned a degree in international business from Northwest Missouri State University and hopes to “inspire others to pick up the pen of intentionality and move from being passive readers to active writers in the novel of their lives.” This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx