First Year Featured Speaker

The First Year Featured Speaker is one of the highlights of the First Year Experience. The speaker is specifically selected to inspire new students and our community and to address the First Year Foundational Theme. This year’s foundational theme is Character.

This year’s selected speaker, Shelby Knox, will address the new students on Wednesday, October 8th at 7 pm in the Emerson Suites. Shelby grew up as a conservative Southern Baptist in Texas turned progressive activist and documentary film subject. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Political Science. Throughout her college career, Shelby traveled across the nation to speak to young people about the importance of comprehensive sex education and the power of youth activism. She currently lives in New York City and is a full time speaker/activist/organizer working with progressive organizations to promote sex education, women's rights, and youth empowerment.

Shelby will introduce the film that carries her name beginning at 7 p.m. and will follow up with a discussion about her journey as an activist.