Arts Last Lecture – Mark Tewksbury

Are you a graduating student? If so, this is the event for you! Arts Last Lecture is a talk arranged every year as a free capstone event for graduating students.

The speaker this year is Olympic Gold Medalist, humanitarian, and activist Mark Tewksbury.

Mark Tewksbury is the star athlete who burst out of the water at the Barcelona Olympics; an Olympic Champion with gold, silver and bronze medals in hand, numerous awards. He was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, and the International Swimming Hall of Fame and was named Canada’s Male Athlete of the Year.

In life outside the pool, Mark has grown to become one of the world’s great performers as a sought after communicator and champion of humanitarian causes. In 2006, he was president of the first World Outgames, which brought sports, culture and human rights together for the first time on the international stage.

Tewksbury has become a champion for a number of important causes. He has proudly supported sick children, special Olympians, and people living with AIDS. In July 2001, he was recognized by the University of Western Ontario for his active humanitarianism and ethical leadership with an honorary doctorate of laws, and in 2008 was invited by the Government of France to address human rights at the United Nations in New York City. He is a popular media commentator, is the Master of Ceremonies for the Dalai Lama’s Canadian appearances, and continues to take a public stance in all mediums for humanitarian issues.

He inspires us all to find meaning in what we do and be a champion in our own personal and professional lives.