Wicked Festival

The Spring 2024 Wicked Festival is April 11, 2024 from 5-7:30 p.m. in Kyle Hall. Faculty, students, families, and prospective Radford students may contact Dr. Paige Tan for more information.

• “The projects I [saw] covered a variety of topics from climate change to obesity, to war, to energy conservation. Some problems could happen in the future and some problems were occurring right now and need solutions. Some problems had better solutions than others, but I loved the creativity of each solution. Additionally, I enjoyed the diversity of the projects because there was always a new idea to look at.” 
• “I had to dig deep to find out there isn’t a perfect solution, but there probably is a best solution that is effective, feasible and acceptable.” 
• “When I began to present my poster, not a lot of people stopped to listen. When people did . . . , I found my understanding of my project began to develop. I was able to understand . . . what important parts of my issue needed to be explained for people to understand and care about the issue I was talking about.” 
• “[Wicked] has helped me practice public speaking, a skill that can be used in a variety of professional settings. I used to hate talking in public but after some time now I’ve mastered it and I’m doing much better than before. I love getting feedback from people. I want to know others’ opinions/ideas about my work and sometimes presentations do open doors for such conversations.” 
• “I hope that you and other faculty feel overwhelmed with joy and pride from the fantastic event. Thank you so much again, and I can't wait to do it again next year!” 
• From a student helping to host the festival: “Usually when working in a group if a team member doesn’t pull their weight or work is not turned in on time it only results in a bad grade. In this case we were involved in the planning of a conference and if my group did not meet expectations it could result in the festival not going as planned. This added an element of pressure and represents what it would be like to complete a project in the job force. Within an actual career, if work is not submitted or done properly it could result in unsuccessful plans or the loss of your job, not just a bad grade.” 
• “At first I was anxious and not confident that I would be able to successfully present the issue. So I really didn’t want anyone to come up to me. However, after my first presentation, I was hoping more people would be interested so I’d be able to share my knowledge. I was a lot more confident and assertive with the delivery I performed as well.”
• “I left with new skills.”
• This “built confidence.” 

Look for courses in Appalachian Studies, Biology, Citizen Leader, Criminal Justice, Design, Economics, Education, English, Geography, International Studies, Marketing, Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (OURS), Peace Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology, Social Work, and Spanish that take part in Wicked. 

The Wicked Festival could not happen without our partners and supporters on campus.

• Dean Matthew Smith, College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences, for on-going, multi-layered support.
• Dr. Joe Wirgau, Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (OURS), for printing, logistical, and moral support.
• Dr. Jean Mistele, Director of the Citizen Leader program (CL), for providing a faculty partner for staff support.
• Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) for helping to give birth to the Wicked Festival through faculty development initiatives.
• RU alumni for generous financial and technical support for the festival.
• Wicked Festival faculty who do these labor-intensive projects to give their students outstanding learning experiences.
• Faculty, student, and alumni judges.
• Wicked staff and volunteers.
• And, lastly, thanks to our Radford students who dove in head first to try to solve some of the world’s thorniest problems.