Mr. Steve Christmas
Enjoy making balloon animals with Steve Christmas, a professional balloon artist who’s been twisting balloons longer than most of his customers have been alive! With wit and wisdom to spare, Christmas will walk listeners through the things he’s learned as a street-performer, as a business-owner, and as a human holiday.
Christmas is a renowned balloon artist from Paducah, Kentucky. He is not just a balloon guy, rather he is known as the Inflation Animation Engineer and owner of Big Balloon Nation. Christmas does balloon animals and balloon décor for large events, universities, and many schools, churches and celebrations including McDonalds, Chick-Fil-A, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Roadhouse, Chevrolet, Bass Pro Shop sponsored festivals, and many other companies.
When he’s not twisting and making balloon dogs, unicorns and balloon arches, he enjoys spending time with his wife, son, and dog Mistletoe.
Balloons Inflation Animation Engineering is all about twisting balloons and engineering leaders to succeed in life. During Balloon Animal School, you’ll learn the “Focus Five” balloon animals and principles needed to overcome fear, expand confidence and develop the mindset to think outside the balloon to solve real-life problems. This session is interactive, hands-on, and challenging, but it sure is a lot of fun!
Dr. Adam Wilson
Adam Wilson serves as director of UT Martin Online Programs. A former lecturer for the Department of History and Philosophy, Dr. Wilson holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Mississippi. His major area of research is African American history, and he specializes in the "long civil rights movement" and African Americans' service in the military throughout America's wars. He is an alumnus from the UT Martin undergraduate history program and is in his twelfth year of service at UT Martin.
In 2015, Dr. Wilson's manuscript, African American Army Officers of World War I: A Vanguard of Equality in War and Beyond, was published. The monograph addresses the roles played by African Americans officers of World War I in fighting for civil rights as they confronted discrimination and bigotry both on the home front and abroad in their military service while also detailing their continued efforts to end segregation and inequality after the war.
More recently, Dr. Wilson has established partnerships with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California and International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. to create internships for students and allow our faculty access to state-of-the-art, educational game-based learning software.
Through a partnership between the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and UT Martin, you will participate in a crisis scenario and play one of over 65 roles. Utilizing an interactive web-based scenario interface and live interactions, you and your colleagues will collaborate to respond to a major crisis while seeking to achieve personal and team goals. Roles and teams will be selected in coordination with GSH leadership to facilitate student learning outcomes throughout GSH experience.
“In these high-intensity, collaborative decision-making scenarios, information moves quickly and every individual choice has consequences. Because participant input shapes the experience, no simulation is ever the same.” - Ronald Reagan Presidential Library