The third annual Fresno State Talks, the popular student-nominated professor lecture series, will spotlight storytelling, a couple’s journey as the first in their families to pursue higher education and the Armenian Genocide.

The lecture series, which features three university professors engaging in TED Talks-style presentations, begins Feb. 12 with mass communications and journalism professor Jes Therkelsen’s lecture: “The stories we weave, the stories we believe, and the stories we leave behind.”

Drs. Ignacio and Susana Hernandez will present, “Degrees of Connection: Familia, Educacion, and Success,” on Feb. 19, followed by Dr. Sergio La Porta’s, “Who Cares? Genocide, Historical Memory, and Moral Responsibility” on Feb. 26.

All lectures begin at 7:30 p.m in the Satellite Student Union.

Since debuting in 2013, Fresno State Talks continues to grow, said Kari Ball, one of four student organizers.

“This is our third year, so we’ve been increasingly picking up nominations. This year, we’ve had the most nominations, so we’re really excited to see that growth and the student involvement in the project,” Ball said, adding 33 professors were nominated this year.

Students cast nominations for the following year’s Fresno State Talks in the fall. The professors who were nominated then submit an abstract summarizing their potential presentation. A committee of four students decides the lineup.

Ignacio and Susana Hernandez, who both teach in the Kremen School of Educational Leadership and Development, were individually nominated though chose to submit an abstract together, Ball said. They will be the first duo to present in the lecture series.

Previous Fresno State Talks lecturers include Rosemary Diaz and Drs. Jenelle Gilbert, Two Trees, T. Hasan Johnson, Wade Gilbert and Honora Chapman.