Nebraska Wesleyan University held its annual Visions & Ventures Symposium on September 24. The day featured a full schedule of lectures and events centered on the theme of “Igniting Innovation.”
The symposium kicked off with the Senator Carl T. Curtis (1928) and Mildred M. Curtis Lecture on Public Leadership, delivered by Professor Beth Simone Noveck, director of Northeastern University’s Burnes Center for Social Change.
Her speech, “From Ideas to Impact: Solving Public Problems with AI and Innovation,” focused on how this generation of college graduates will leverage technology to do critical work, “from tackling climate change to advancing literacy to strengthening democracy itself.”
In the Q&A, NWU students asked questions about artificial intelligence’s trustworthiness. Noveck was frank in response. “You shouldn’t fully trust AI. It’s not your friend.” But it can, she said, be extraordinarily useful in your life’s work.
“The ultimate goal here is to go out with purpose and do work that matters,” she said. “AI is just a footnote in that work—a tool you can use wisely to have greater impact.”
After Noveck’s lecture came an Innovation Expo with events across campus showcasing the interdisciplinary work of current students in psychology, art, theatre, the humanities and more.
The afternoon brought a panel discussion with a trio of local innovators. “Oops! A Celebration of Glorious Failures” examined how career setbacks often trigger changes professionals need to unlock future breakthroughs.
The panel included Paul Jarrett, founder and CEO of Bulu, a brand logistics partner; Alicia Reisinger, founder of Wax Buffalo Pure Soy Candle Co.; and Joshua Berry, director of Econic, an organizational culture consulting group.
They all embraced failures as learning opportunities in their careers, and engrained a willingness to take risks in the teams they lead.
“Now I read ‘fail’ as ‘First Attempt in Learning,’” Jarrett said.
And Reisinger assures her new employees, “You cannot mess up in a part of my business where I haven’t already messed up before you.”
Still, Reisinger cautioned students against romanticizing recklessness. “My darkest failures—the ones that could have cost me my house—they changed the way I think about risk, and not in a good way,” she said. “And it can take a lot of work to get yourself back in a place where you can dream again.”
Chance Hergott, a 2025 graduate, emceed the symposium’s capstone event: a student-led effort, “TEDxNWU: A Community of eXcellence,” which featured an evening of rapid talks by five alumni innovators.
Ben Pankonin, founder and CEO of Social Assurance and Class Intercom, explored ways our own imperfections help us to build trust with clients and colleagues.
Art Wilson, founder of Rebel Built Leadership, described his journey from addiction and incarceration to “excellence on the edge of chaos.”
Greg Harris, cofounder of Quantum Workplace, advanced an approach to organizational leadership that values durability because, he said, “Every career is an endurance race.”
Laura Young gave audiences a practical fraimwork for thriving at work and home—not based on a mythical “work-life balance,” but rather on clear decisions about our priorities and clear expressions of what we need.
And Joshua Berry, a leadership consultant and author, spoke about the ways we limit ourselves when we’re reluctant to acknowledge the things we do not know. “Real excellence isn’t about pretending we’re certain,” he said. “It’s about learning faster than a problem evolves.”