Thank you to all the volunteers, speakers, sponsors, and audience members who made TEDxUniversityofMississippi 2002 a huge success! This year’s event featured eight speakers who explored the theme of “New Avenues” to “share ideas on what new avenues people, communities and organizations are exploring to optimize outcomes,” according to TEDxUniversityofMississippi PR chief Landon Bradley.

Sharde Thomas. “Sitting on Top of the World.”
Richard Balkin. “How We Forgive.”
Stephanie Showalter Otts. “Shining a Light on Lead in Drinking Water.”
Maria Brito. “NFTs, Graffiti, and Sedition: How Great Artists Create the Future.”
Meagan Rosenthal. “Turning to Community of Answers.” 02.22.22.
Michael Fagans. “Seeing the Unseen”.
Michelle L. D. Hanlon. “Who Cares What Happens to Bootprints on the Moon?”
Photos courtesy of HG Biggs

This year’s event featured local artists and musicians along side the eight speakers. Shardé Thomas of The Rising Stars Drum and Fife Band took the stage to explain how she is working to save and advance a genre of folk/blues music. During intermission, her band played—not only to entertain the audience, but to enhance her talk, and graduate students and faculty in the Department of Art shared original pieces that reflected or created a new avenue in art.

Rising Stars intermission.
Rising Stars intermission.
Sharde Thomas. “Sitting on Top of the World.”
The UM Jazz Combo performs at TEDxUniversityofMississippi.
The UM Jazz Combo performs at TEDxUniversityofMississippi. .
Photos courtesy of HG Biggs.