Two years after being inspired by his teachers TED talk lectures Collin Ritter, senior and co-organizer of TEDx Southeast Missouri State University will be hosting his second TEDx talk.

TEDx is an international community that organizes TED style events that produce local ideas that goes worldwide. TEDx events are produced separately from TED conferences, each event picks their own speakers and base the event from TED’S format and rules.

Ritter said he came up with the idea to have TEDx on campus when he was a sophomore taking Fundamentals of Oral Communication taught by Brooke Hildebrand Clubbs, instructure of communication studies.

“I sort of fell in love with the platform of telling stories that people aren’t used to telling, and when I found out about TEDx I thought we have to do this at the University,” said Ritter.

Clubbs being the one who introduced Ritter to TED talks he felt as though it would be right to get her on board to help with his idea of having a TEDx here on campus.

“I had listened to a lot of TED talks but I didn’t know TEDx was a thing,” Clubbs said.

Ritter then reached out to the TED office where he had to go went through the application process.

The process of submitting an application to TED’s office is lengthy. It took Ritter a couple of months to finish the application process. He had to answer several questions in regards to the theme of the event, funding, speakers, locations, and different ideas he had going into the event. But once they were given the okay from ted they began the planning process for their event.

“They are very strict on giving out application of course because they want to protect their brand image,” Ritter said.

TEDx is a hands on experience and is a way to get faculty and the students involved in the production as well. They take on task such as design, hospitality, working with the speakers, discussion leaders and managing the event.

“It's all a team effort with the faculty and their students working side by side and its kind of neat to see all that come together as well,” Clubbs said.

Clubbs is primarily in charge of this TEDx event and believe that TEDx is a opportunity to bring Cape Girardeau community and the campus community

“I think that’s kind of a unique opportunity for them to all sit at tables and talk to each other and listen to these talks together,” Clubbs said.

The theme for this event is “A Matter of Time,”

“I think there’s a sense for everyone that we rush around all of the time we are always trying to get things done and we are always trying to think of better uses of our time,” Clubbs said. “I think that it’s just kind of a fascinating topic it has so many facets to it that it seem appropriate for the type of broad topic you should choose for a TED talk.”

After picking the theme for this event Clubbs and Ritter reached out to different people who they knew were dynamic, had new ideas, doing great things, and who was available and interested in doing the event.

They selected four speakers: Dr. Linda Garner, associates professor of nursing; Rane Belling, a graduate student pursuing their Master of Arts in higher education administration; Heather Williams, a substance abuse specialist at the Community Counseling Center; and Wesley Cox, a 2017 Southeast graduate who majored in political science.

Each speaker will be talking about their personal meaning as to what “A Matter of Time”

means to them.

The event will be held on Thursday, March 1, in the Aleen Vogel Wehking Alumni Center. The doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the event starts at 7:00 p.m. There will also be a live stream watch party taking place at Catapult Creative House.