Friday, March 6, marked the eighth annual TEDxMarshallU event. Following the success of last year’s event — including one talk selected as a 2025 editor’s pick — the lights dimmed on a packed house. After a few words from lead organizer Brian Kinghorn and Honors College Dean Brian Hoey, the microphone was passed to emcees Piper Cook, Demi Olin and Matt James. 

Their playful banter and bold outfits set the tone of the evening: inspired and independent. The night opened with a short and sweet performance by community band Hoot & Holler. Their bright green shirts, goofy outfits and wacky instruments primed the audience for a night of bold choices and unlimited possibilities. 

Kimberly Lewis began the talks with a conversation about the relationship between expectations and success. Using her personal experiences as a Black woman in America and her work with special needs individuals as CEO of Goodwill Industries ofEast Texas, Lewis weaved a talk about the importance of high standards from oneself and others.

Following Lewis was “Wherever I go, there I am” with Matthew Webb, writer and native of England, then “Staying Human in an AI driven World” with Josh Brunty, Marshall professor of cyber forensics. 

The final talk before the intermission was Bukola Adeshina, third year medical student with a passion for medical literacy. Adeshina highlighted her experiences with patients using her own understanding of patient literacy to advise and imagine a world of comprehension rather than confusion. She hopes to improve the medical system with the launch of her medical translator app, Access Insight.

After the intermission, the event closed with ER Dr. Jeremy Baird, chiropractor Brad Profitt and Erica Deligne, female advocate, stylist and icon. Their talks touched on a variety of topics from failure to redirection to beauty, health and control. 

The final speaker of the evening was Ryann Province, Marshall senior and singer-songwriter. Province focused on her ability to cultivate confidence through the development of an alter ego, Ryann Renae, that helped her process her own emotions. Her talk focused on the ability to find, grow and maintain the strength to understand and express ourselves.

Following her performance as emcee, Cook, the TEDx communications coordinator, considered the night a great success.

“Our speakers gave eight incredible talks that we’ve worked on over the past two days on the stage and watched them come from being so nervous on their first talk walk through to getting out there and doing their thing,” Cook said.

After hearing the talks, Cook said her biggest takeaway came from a combination of the speakers. 

“The biggest takeaway is just to really look at how many aspects of your life can make you feel independent, and the way you look at the world can change so differently and influence the way you live your life every day, and you can really be your true self and just show that inspired independence is what will make the world better,” Cook said. 

Student Sydney Wolf came to watch TEDx after enjoying the previous event. 

“I wanted to come to TEDx because I came last year as a Top Scholar, and I feel like it was a really good experience to hear a bunch of different perspectives on things I never would have known about,” Wolf said. 

Sydney was most affected by the message of self-determination and confidence.

“My biggest takeaway is that I can be whoever I want to be,” Wolf said. “I don’t have to let expectations or negative outside factors affect me.”

TEDx is more than an event; it is a community builder. Many of the speakers are locals or Marshall alums returning to share their experiences with the people they know and love, many of whom were packed into the audience. One such alum is Will Shiels, the regional vice president of operations at Village Caregiving. 

Shiels was a valuable player in the event by working the teleprompter. Through his role in TEDx and as a member of the Huntington community, Shiels saw the value of spreading ideas. 

“There were themes across each presentation that reached across another, and I feel like there was a lot of inspiration looking forward to the future how the world is changing with tech and the medical world,” Shiels said.