The recognized marathon runner and United Nations delegate hosted a campus event through TEDxUCDavis
BY SHREYA KUMAR — arts@theaggie.org
On Mar. 6, TEDxUCDavis held an interactive pop-up TEDx Salon event at the ASUCD Coffee House from 6 to 8 p.m. Featuring Aidan Hyman as the keynote speaker, the event provided a space for thought-provoking discussions on authenticity and personal growth. Attendees enjoyed an evening of reflective, interactive workshops while indulging in free snacks in a warm and welcoming environment.
Hyman, a third-year agricultural and environmental technology major at UC Davis, is also a queer social entrepreneur, humanitarian and renewable energy advocate. His talk, “Following Your Heart’s Compass: Cultivating Your Authenticity,” included him speaking at length about his perspectives on motivating himself and others to face uncertainty head on, as well as his experiences with learning how to conquer fears that hold you back from doing what you want.
Shriya Nagulapally, a fourth-year music and physics double major and the director of the TEDx Speakers Team, worked closely with Hyman to write and develop his speech, helping refine his experiences and ideas into an engaging message.
“With this being our first pop-up TEDx event, we were not sure how everything would go, but between [Hyman’s] talk and the workshops, it was a great success,” Nagulapally said.
Outside of the TEDxUC Davis event, Hyman has modeled energy efficiency projects and conducted research on nuclear fusion trends for UC Davis’ Bodega Marine Lab. Beyond academia, Hyman has taken on extreme challenges, such as skydiving and climbing K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth.
Along with his studies, Hyman holds the title of a Three-Star World-Marathoner in the Abbott World Marathon Majors series. He has also completed marathons in Boston, New York City and Chicago. Additionally, he has competed in Ironman 70.3 Hawaiʻi and was nominated to be one of Attitude Magazine’s most influential queer trailblazers of 2024. Hyman is also an Athlete for Equality with the Human Rights Campaign and has worked in environmental affairs as an intern at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) headquarters in Thailand.
The TEDx event served as a preview of an upcoming larger-scale TEDx event, UncharTED, which will be a full-day conference featuring a diverse array of speakers from across the country. Although TEDxUCDavis has held conference events before, such as their successful WholehearTED conference last year, a TEDx Salon event has never been held at UC Davis.
“Salon events are often small weekly or monthly events that keeps […] community engaged between regular TEDx events,” the TED website reads.
Unlike the standard conference events, which feature mainly professionals and researchers on a grand stage, Salon events highlight student voices in a more casual setting. The welcoming format allows for more interactivity and encourages an open dialogue between the speaker and the audience.
Hyman’s talk was followed up by a Q&A session that allowed attendees to directly engage by asking questions and sharing their own insights related to the topic. After a short break, Hyman led participants in a guided journaling session, asking them to reflect on their own experiences with uncertainty and discovery to understand how to apply his philosophies to their own life experiences.
Afterward, attendees mingled during a social bingo workshop. Each bingo card contained questions in the spaces, and everyone had to find someone who could fill in each space based on which prompt they had personally experienced.
Neha Kaul, a fourth-year cognitive science major and president of TEDxUCDavis, discussed what makes TEDx the opportunity it is.
“I love TEDx because it truly brings communities together,” Kaul said. “It’s inspiring to see the passion not only from our team members but also from the speakers and attendees. The opportunity to exchange ideas with some of the brightest minds is truly a once in a lifetime experience.”
The Salon was more than just an event — it was an invitation to explore the uncharted. For those who attended, the evening served as a powerful reminder that stepping into the unknown often leads to the most transformative discoveries, and for those who missed it, don’t worry — the journey is just beginning. You can watch Hyman’s talk on the TEDxUCDavis YouTube channel, along with talks from last year’s conference.
Additionally, Hyman will be representing the Ironman Foundation and competing in Ironman Texas this April, for which he is currently raising funds. Visit his website or his Instagram @aidanhyman to learn more and offer your support. Be sure to mark your calendars for this year’s conference, UncharTED, taking place at California Hall on April 26.
Written by Shreya Kumar — arts@theaggie.org
