Again, I am wayyy behind on my posts but please be only slightly impressed that I KEPT ALL MY PHOTOS because I knew I’d eventually write posts needing them. So, in that warped way, I was always thinking about you, the reader.
Moving on… anyone who knows me knows I love me some college visits to discuss sexual violence beyond just the walls of campus. I want students to know about perpetrators. I want them to know how to help people who disclose to them. I want them to know that there is a future beyond the pain of being assaulted this way. And I want them to go out into the wide world and Be. The. Change.
So, I definitely jumped at the chance to speak to Clemson University students when one of the professors I know reached out to me. One of the shows I travel with for work, College GameDay, was going to be on campus, and since that’s a short drive from Atlanta, I packed an overnight bag and headed east, and slightly north? Something like that.
All I know is that I was speaking on a Friday afternoon and I practically had to sprint to the building for my speech since the media availability I was hosting for work was pushed back due to a tight production schedule. TV life, baby. So, in the heat and heaviness of South Carolina air, I hauled ass to the students. And I proceeded right to the women’s restroom to air out my dress and wash my face and try not to melt into the tiled floor…
Only slightly composed, I got to work. I was so pleased with the turnout for a late summer Friday in a college town before a big game. Really, I was truly surprised. And I loved it. The students had good questions and they were engaged throughout. I can’t take all the credit for that as a speaker. What that says to me is these students possessed a genuine passion for the topic and that it has been nurtured during their time there. My heart swells. I had a wonderful experience and I’m reminded that I should do as much speaking as I can. Believe me, I’m working on it.
A Fight Back Woman 