MSU hosts first TEDx event

Members of PACE, a division of the Office of Student Engagement, scurried about Reynolds Recital Hall on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 26, making final preparations for the first ever TEDxMSU, an independently organized event that covers a wide range of subjects. Cameras were being set up to cover the event, several speakers looked over their notes one last time and the stage was adorned with the TEDx emblem. 

TEDx, as described by the official program’s website, is “a grassroots initiative, created in the spirit of TED’s overall mission to research and discover ‘ideas worth spreading.’ TEDx brings the spirit of TED to local communities around the globe through TEDx events.”

Ellie Canade, a graduate assistant at the OSE, served as the event’s host. The speaker line-up included a group of individuals with various backgrounds to share their unique experiences. The featured speakers included Michael Serio, Can we savor and also save our wild lands?; Luis Islas, A story of perseverance and power of Education; Robell Bassett, Developing identity; Marianne Renner, Saying yes first; Olivia Davis, Inclusivity: understanding the invisible; Kate Riggers, How to be an anti-people-pleaser; Jade Larsen, Choosing love and trust; and Lex Harold, who spoke on cannibalism and was told only two days in advance he was going to speak at the event.

Harold’s speech had the audience in stitches as he detailed when cannibalism is OK, a spectrum that included instances of cooking your dear grandmother southern-braised-ribs style. Harold drove the audience to tears of laughter, while Islas brought them to tears of heartbreak.

Islas spoke of how the streets of his childhood home in East Palo Alto, California claimed the lives of his friends. However, Islas was given the privilege of a new start in Boise which allowed him to escape these rough conditions and find roads of opportunity.  

MSU has been continually committed to fostering intellectual curiosity and growth both on campus and in the community, a commitment that has been reaffirmed by hosting this event. “We want to do this event for years to come,” Canade said.