As Rupa Dash prepared to move from Los Angeles to Little Rock, she decided it was time to tackle her biggest fear.

When the businesswoman, CEO, entrepreneur, producer, and graduate student made a list of all the things that scared her, public speaking was on top.

“I think sometimes it is easy to say things we are good at, but equally hard to identify what we are not good at,” said Dash, a business student pursuing her master’s at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Within a few months of resolving to rid herself of a fear of public speaking, Dash was a winner at the TEDxMarkhamSt Student Speaker Competition.

TEDxMarkhamSt is a program of local and self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience in the spirit of ideas worth sharing. TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to spreading ideas. The annual TED conference in California invites world-leading “thinkers and doers” to speak.

Dash made plans to attend a TEDx talk this fall, but when she learned she could compete for TEDxMarkhamSt, she took it as an opportunity to overcome her fear.

After she wrote her speech, Dash had difficulties presenting it, so she sought help through UALR’s Communication Skill Center.

“I didn’t know about them,” said Dash. “I was just trying to find out if there was anything that could help me with coming out of that fear. I saw that there was a speech communication building here, and they help with students all over the campus.”

With training and assistance from student interns, Dash found her fear more manageable. On Feb. 27, she had nine minutes to give her talk at the student competition where she competed against six people.

Her speech on common sense and how it can transform a career and life received first place. Meanwhile, she has become less afraid of public speaking.

“I’m not completely fearless about speaking, but it gave me a confidence that I can get over any fear I have,” Dash said.

She will present her subject for 18 minutes at TEDxMarkhamSt on Sept. 30 at Ron Robinson Theater in downtown Little Rock.

More about Dash

Dash started the Master of Business Administration program at UALR in January with her husband.

She received her bachelor’s degree in India and an entrepreneurship program certification from the University of California-Los Angeles Anderson School of Management. Dash has been wanting an MBA for a while now.

“I think I’m very fortunate to be part of the UALR business school,” she said. “I see a great amount of helping-each-other attitude here, and there is so much interdisciplinary learning, which I enjoy the most.”

Dash moved to the area from Los Angeles with her husband when he accepted a position at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. When Dash is not working on her degree, she is involved in multiple women’s organizations.

She is one of the business accelerators and executive managers of Women’s Entrepreneur’s Network, one of the largest women’s entrepreneur groups in North America.

She also co-founded and is CEO of World Woman Foundation. This foundation creates a platform to spotlight young women in business, entertainment, social entrepreneurship, and technology. Established in 2013, the foundation seeks to empower women by facilitating mentoring programs for 1 million women and girls worldwide by 2020.

Dash is also a CEO of Global Indian American Women Network, a producer at Brillstein Entertainment and Dash Global Media, and an executive managing director at eWomen Network in Los Angeles.

Dash hopes her life and the work of the companies she’s involved in will lift up others and give everybody an equal opportunity.