Tulane University hosted its fifth TEDxTU, an independent TED talk event.

This year, the theme was “Creating Tomorrow,” which focused on who we are today and how we can center ourselves and our community to create a better tomorrow.

TEDxTU took place on the evening of Feb. 5 and featured a total of nine speakers and two video presentations. Among the speakers, there were two students and two professors from Tulane, three locals and two speakers who flew in from different parts of the country.

Going to a live TEDx event was a thrilling first for many given the amount of acclaim for TED events. The auditorium quickly filled with curious students and the friends and family of speakers.

The event kicked off with Michael Goldberg, CEO of Zimmerman Advertising. Goldberg said he believed that a key to a good life is making it TED-worthy and finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Others focused on building community.

Claire Bangser, New Orleans local and founder of NOLABeings, spoke of connectivity in communities, especially among strangers. In her talk, Bangser said it is important to start dialogue with strangers so we can stop seeing the world through a colored lens.

“What keeps us from asking more questions and talking to strangers? What would our city look like if we took more walks with strangers?” Bangser said.

To prove the benefits of building connections with strangers, Bangser shared how photographing and speaking to a stranger led to a strong friendship.

Peter Ricchiuti, twice voted Tulane’s top professor, focused on the effects of capitalism on middle class workers, while Richard Campanella, Tulane school of architecture professor, spoke about his concerns with the slowly sinking parts of the Gulf of Mexico.

Trace Hancock, business sophomore at Tulane, shared his experience from his Louisiana-famous Instagram account and how social media affects our self-esteem.

“Vulnerability and authenticity is the connection to self-worthiness,” Hancock said. “You cannot be authentic without imperfection and you cannot be vulnerable without insecurity.”

Jonathan Bailor, New York Times bestseller and nutritional and fitness expert, talked about witnessing his grandfather lose his life to diabetes. Bailor said he believes that targeting diabetes the same way we target tobacco will bring change.

Emmy award winning documentarian Jackie Sumell, known for her film “Herman’s House,” ended the event by sharing her experience with Herman Wallace, the falsely accused man who spent 23 hours a day in a Louisiana prison cell for 41 years.

By providing different perspectives on the world through the varied views of its speakers, attending TEDxTU was an incredibly rewarding and humbling experience for both speakers and audience members.

“I felt very inspired and excited about tonight’s event,” Lamb said. “There was a great range of speakers and a bunch of great ideas. I feel smarter than I did coming in here tonight.”

Bailor said participating in events like TED talks is a new way of serving the worldwide community in the technological age.

“I’m so honored to be here and everyone I’ve worked with is incredibly helpful and gracious,” Bailor said. “You could tell they were doing it out of service and to serve and to make the world a better place. That’s really rare in the modern world so it’s amazing to be a part of it.”