“Collective Sharing: Building Community Through The Act of Listening”
Monday, September 3, at 11 a.m.
In this presentation, StoryCorps offers a complete overview of the mission, history, initiatives and services of the program. They will discuss in depth the StoryCorps mission – to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share and preserve the stories of our lives – and how it connects and strengthens communities. They will also explain how to preserve and share more stories with accessible, do-it-yourself interview methods. Finally, they will share stories from their oral history collection and allow time for audience questions.
Created in 2003 by Dave Isay, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 40,000 interviews from nearly 80,000 participants. In his book, the IC Connections summer reading text for 2012, Listening is an Act of Love, Isay has selected some of the most remarkable stories from this vast collection and arranged them into a moving portrait of American life.
Through these stories, StoryCorps wants people to be reminded of their shared humanity, strengthen and build the connections between people, teach the value of listening and weave into the fabric of our culture the understanding that every life matters. At the same time, StoryCorps is creating an invaluable archive of American voices for future generations.
“Be the Change”
Monday, September 10, at 11 a.m.
In this inspirational presentation, Girls on the Run founder Molly Barker shares the powerful message that the only limitations to the achievement of self-worth, contentment and joy are those we place on ourselves: we must be the change for the change we wish to occur. Molly’s story motivates employees to innovatively break free of the same-old, same-old; encourages college students to celebrate their gifts, honor their voices and activate their power in the awaiting world; and gives women and girls the tools to break free from the negative, limiting talk, both internally and externally, and to joyfully and boldly pursue their dreams.
Molly founded Girls on the Run in 1996 in Charlotte, North Carolina. A four-time Hawaii Ironman triathlete, she used her background in social work, counseling and teaching, along with research on adolescent issues, to develop the program. Today, there are Girls on the Run councils in over 190 cities across North America serving over 150,000 girls and women each year.
Molly has been featured in many media outlets including People, Runner’s World, Glamour, Self, Shape, Redbook and Woman’s Day. Molly has authored two books, Girls on Track, A Parent’s Guide to Inspiring our Daughters to Achieve a Lifetime of Self-Esteem and Respect and Girls Lit from Within which is specifically for 3rd – 8th grade girls.
“What’s so Scary About Diversity?”
Monday, October 29, at 11 a.m.
In this presentation, Dr. J.Q. Adams will discuss how group and individual racial/ethnic identity has impacted every aspect of our lives from citizenship to economic opportunity. He will explore how the current demographic changes are shaping public discourse about immigration, our borders and our schools. He will also discuss the enduring influence of racial/ethnic hegemony in the United States.
Currently, Adams is a professor of Educational and Interdisciplinary Studies at Western Illinois University (WIU). His most recent publications/projects include the books Multicultural Films: A Reference Guide, Dealing With Diversity the Anthology and the videotape series Effective Strategies For Learning and Teaching About Diversity in the U.S.A. Adams’ teleclass “Dealing with Diversity” is taught at over 150 colleges and universities across the United States. He has particular interest and experience in researching African-American, Asian-American and Latino populations in the public schools.
He is currently involved in a video interview series that chronicles the lives and works of major scholars in multicultural education. His interviews with Henry Giroux, Ronald Takaki, Maulana Karenga, Tim Wise, Heather Hackman, Shakti Butler, Rev. C.T. Vivian and Pedro Noguera have already been completed.
“Sports and Community”
Monday, November 19, at 11 a.m.
In this presentation, gold medalist Amanda McGrory will discuss the role of community in helping her adapt to life as a person with a disability and how it helped her find success in sports. At age five, McGrory was diagnosed with a rare disease that left her paralyzed from her waist down. After an extensive rehabilitation program, her love affair with the sport of wheelchair racing began. Under the coaching of former American marathon champion Scot Hollonbeck, who pushed McGrory to become a marathoner, McGrory took home four medals in Beijing and became one of the best in the world.
Far from one dimensional, Amanda graduated in 2010 with a degree in psychology from the University of Illinois. Amanda is also a fervent supporter of Variety – The Children’s Charity in Philadelphia, never misses the opportunity to motivate and coach young wheelchair athletes at various camps, and works with USA Paralympics to introduce wounded veterans to wheelchair athletics. She has recently returned from competing in the London Paralympic games.