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How a Small-Town Ohio Baker Learned Persian and Parlayed That Into...: Tom Gouttierre at TEDxOmaha

2,170 views · Published 29 October 2012 · 17:35 · Indexed 23 September 2026

Channel: TEDx Talks · 2012 · Nonprofits & Activism

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Thomas E. Gouttierre serves as the Dean of International Studies and Programs (IS&P) and Director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). In this talk, he describes how being open, adaptable, and flexible took him on adventures thousands of miles from his boyhood home and gave him the opportunity to impact people across the globe.

Gouttierre speaks, reads, and writes Afghan Persian (Dari), Iranian Persian (Farsi), and Tajikistani Persian; he has also studied Arabic, French, German, Latin, Russian, and Spanish.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

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