Submitted by Steve Oldfield

Australian art major Echo Ford won the Judges Award at this semester’s Tom Talks, Thomas More’s version of TED Talks, created by communications professor Steve Oldfield for his COM105 public speaking students.

Each of his 70 students created a talk, and the top 25 performed their speeches on the stage in Ziegler Auditorium on Dec. 4, 2025.

Echo is a color-blind artist who spoke about the challenges of creating art without the ability to see color.  When she was a young child in Australia, her father swerved to avoid hitting a kangaroo on the road and they crashed their car into a tree. Echo’s eyes were damaged to the point where she can only see shades of black and white. She spoke about how many people, including relatives, tried to discourage her from being an artist, but she has found a creative home here at Thomas More.

The 150 people in the audience also voted for their favorites. David Warner scored the top spot with his ode to Buffalo Wild Wings, which the audience enjoyed during intermission.  

Two other students tied for second place: Maeve Fink spoke about her passion for sign language, and Sabrina Ford spoke about life as a piano prodigy. She performed at Carnegie Hall at 14 years old, but then injured her hand while walking her dog when they were attacked by a pitbull. While her music career was over, she was inspired to pursue physical therapy after months of work during her recovery from the attack.

Finally, Jadyn Carle won the Gordon Award for her skill, attitude, and enthusiasm, speaking about growing up with a speech impediment. The award is named after Thomas More graduate Gordon Huston, who overcame his own speech challenges to make the finals of the Tom Talks four years ago. 

The award-winners received $50 and trophies.

Judges included Thomas More communications alumnus Brad Fritz, senior honors student Cam Weil, and Shalma Prince, an artist in Cincinnati.  South African rugby player and senior Rea Seele hosted the evening.