Laura Bush will speak about domestic and international education efforts at a Texas A&M global education symposium Wednesday night.
The former first lady will be accompanied by Razia Jan, an activist who achieved widespread attention due to her efforts to support women’s education in Afghanistan.
The symposium, hosted by MSC Bethancourt, a professional exposure organization, will consist of a keynote address from Bush followed by a Q&A session for both Bush and Jan facilitated by Douglas Palmer, dean of the College of Education and Human Development.
Peter Rozanski, chair of MSC Bethancourt, said the former first lady and Jan will discuss the worldwide efforts to ensure the importance of education across all cultures, backgrounds and nationalities.
“Mrs. Bush will be able to speak on both sides of the coin as far as domestic and international education efforts go and she’s done a lot of work during her time in the White House and since then, so we’re excited to hear about the developments and progress she’s made in education across the board since she really started tackling this issue a couple of decades ago,” Rozanski said.
Rozanski said Jan will likely speak about personal experience in starting education for girls in Afghanistan.
Erin Williamson, MSC Bethancourt’s advisor, said the event gives students an opportunity to hear various viewpoints on issues.
“It’s a good opportunity to meet and see inside the mind of someone who made a huge impact on our society and education as a whole,” Williamson said. “But also to begin diving into the dialogue about education, hearing from two different perspectives.”
Alan Clayton, vice chair of MSC Bethancourt, said benefits of attending the symposium are three-fold.
“One, it’s a luxury to be able to see impactful and influential people in person,” Clayton said. “Two, to learn from them in terms of how they made some of their decisions and some of the stuff that they’ve had to deal with. And then, three, to connect with a larger cause, to understand and to know these are things that should be inherent in all of us.”
The symposium begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Rudder Auditorium. Tickets are $5 for students and faculty, and $10 for general admission, and can be purchased through the MSC Box Office or online.