Aims Community College Student Accessibility Services will host comedian and Colorado native Mimi Hayes for a live performance on Wednesday, March 4.
Doors open at 6 p.m. for a reception and book signing, with the comedy performance to follow at 7 p.m. The event will be held at the Aims Welcome Center in the Miller Auditorium, 4901 W. 20th St. It is free and open to the public.
The evening will spotlight Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Month and invite students, employees and community members to learn more about hidden disabilities while also getting a much-needed laugh.
“TBI Awareness Month is important because traumatic brain injury is a really good example of a hidden disability,” says Meg Griffin, director of Aims Student Accessibility Services. “Helping people understand the causes and the experience of people with traumatic brain injury can really support them in understanding why accommodations are needed, both at work and in school.”
Dark Humor, Real Healing
Comedian and writer Mimi Hayes blends stand-up, storytelling and disability advocacy, often drawing from her experience as a brain injury survivor. Hayes has performed comedy for more than a decade, including time in clubs in New York City and Los Angeles. She has appeared at venues such as Denver Comedy Works, Stand Up NY, Broadway Comedy Club and The Moth. She has opened for comedians including Jim Gaffigan and Ari Eldjárn. She has shared her work with international audiences through solo performances at festivals such as the Edinburgh Fringe and the United Solo Festival in New York City.
Hayes’ comedy is rooted in a life-changing medical crisis that began when she was 22, just days into her first job as a teacher. What she thought was a migraine turned out to be a brain hemorrhage that was initially missed.
“I was pretty much written off and told that I was too young to have anything wrong with me,” Hayes says.
Her condition quickly progressed.
“In those six weeks, I became totally disabled,” she says. “I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t see.”
She later underwent emergency brain surgery, followed by rehabilitation, where she relearned basic skills including walking and vision. During that period, Hayes began using humor as a coping tool.
“During that time is also when I started making really dark jokes,” she says.
That grim humor and her determination to tell a story she did not see represented on stage became the foundation of her career.
“I really didn’t do stand-up before my brain injury,” Hayes says. “I just started getting up on stage and talking about it.”
Hayes went on to write and publish her memoir, “I’ll Be OK, It’s Just a Hole in My Head,” while recovering and relearning how to walk. Her TEDx talk, “Laughter Is NOT the Best Medicine,” and her narrative-driven comedy explore love, loss, trauma and neurodivergence with a personal yet intentionally comedic style.
In 2023, Hayes experienced a second brain hemorrhage, an event she says deepened her focus on invisible disability and chronic illness. She is currently working on a documentary titled “Between Two Bleeds,” which explores “how I walk around the world looking totally fine, but usually feeling anything but,” she says.
Beyond performing, Hayes delivers keynote addresses, leads writing and comedy workshops for survivors and partners with nonprofits to advocate for greater understanding of brain injury and other invisible disabilities. She is also the founder of Writing With Mimi, a coaching business for writers, and launched the Writing With Mimi Retreat in 2024.
Aims Student Accessibility Services
Student Accessibility Services at Aims Community College collaborates across the campus to ensure that students with disabilities have equal opportunities. SAS helps students with documented disabilities receive the accommodations they need to provide access, such as extended test time, note-taking, assistive technology and more.
“We also just really want people to know that our office is here to support students as they come into the college for things like brain injury, as well as some other disabilities,” says Kaylea Sharp, a SAS advisor. Learn more at aims.co/sas.
Attend the Show
No tickets or registration are required. Aims will enforce a clear bag policy at the event to provide a safe environment for guests. For accommodations, contact SAS at accommodations@aims.edu or 970-339-6565.
