The event, which brought together speakers from Louisville and beyond to give short talks on the theme of interconnection, began last year as the dream of event organizer and UofL graduate student Stacey Reason. Inspired by the first TEDxUofL talk in 2012, Reason applied for her own TEDx license and assembled a team of nine collaborators—also UofL grad students—to help direct the event.
“For a long time, I didn’t see myself as the director,” said Reason. “I wanted everyone to feel like this is our project.”
Every aspect of the event, from booking speakers to running lights and sound to facilitating audience discussion, was performed by volunteers. They numbered about 50 in total and ranged in age from freshmen to 30-somethings. Most of them were UofL students, but some came from outside the university to help make the talk happen.
“The magic of TED is that it brings such diverse people together,” said volunteer and UofL graduate David Frick. “I’d love to see a lot of them working on the next TEDxUofL, whenever it happens.”