How do you speak to yourself about yourself? Dr. Walter Lee is an entrepreneur and at professor at University of South Carolina Upstate. in his talk, Dr. Lee speaks on the importance of the words that we use to describe ourselves. He advocates for the self evaluation of your image, story, and filter with which you see your life. By “people watching” yourself, Dr. Walt proposes that we are able then to tap into the best version of ourselves. Award-winning educator, Walter A. Lee, PhD is currently an Assistant Professor of Middle/Secondary Education at the USC Upstate, Campus Coordinator of the Nationally Acclaimed Call Me MiSTER Program and Ambassador for the Black College Fund. He earned his PhD in Educational Leadership from Clemson University, EdS from Clemson University, and BA in Middle Level Education from Claflin University. An educator for over a decade, Walter’s research agenda emphasizes positive enhancement self-concept strategies for learners, which include intersections of poverty and race, color-evasiveness, equitable instructional practices, and cultural competence. Walter is the author of many articles including Rising Tides, Sinking Boats – A Focus on Equitable Practices. Walter teaches courses on curriculum, instruction, assessment, and research and has presented locally and nationally on his theoretical framework for educating African American (and all other) learners. 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