Elizabeth Smart will share her story of abduction and empowerment on campus Thursday.
Smart was abducted as a child in 2002 and subjected to physical and sexual abuse for nine months. Following her rescue, she published a book detailing her experiences and has advocated for child abduction recovery programs.
Smart’s presentation is hosted by Maggies and the Wiley Lecture Series. Adrienne Bryant, Maggies’ program coordinator for the lecture and psychology senior, said she was initially inspired by Smart’s story after reading her book. Bryant said she was particularly moved by how Smart was able to thrive after her experience, and wanted to help spread that message to students on campus.
Haley Mathews, director of symposia for MSC Wiley and political science senior, said she hopes those attending will be inspired by Smart’s story.
“I think that the most important thing to take away from her story is that when we go through a hard time or trial, there are ways to take it, and that you can better your own life,” Mathews said. “It’s going to be a conversation about empowerment and perseverance, and I think that that’s going to be important for students to take away. Her experience is extreme, but its the principle of persevering through hard times, turning it on it’s head and using it to empower your life.”
Mathews said many aspects of Smart’s story will be received by a diverse audience with a broad range of interest.
“On Maggies’ side, it’s about women in leadership, and empowering women, and on our side it’s a conversation about policy,” Mathews said. “Smart has been active in advocating for victims of abduction in policy fields. It’s a little bit outside of our mission, but we thought that the program has been worth bringing to campus.”
Wiley Lecture Series’ advisor Deryle Richmond said events like Smart’s lecture provide students an avenue for secondary education outside of the classroom.
“In general, what we hope is that we invest in events that will educate our campus and community, that will allow student to hear from people that are newsmakers and have been in the news, to allow them to pose questions to these people and not have it filtered through the paper or other forms of media,” Richmond said. “Whether that is Elizabeth Smart or David Axelrod, or anyone in between, all of them are designed to amplify the education we get in the classroom.”
Smart’s lecture will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Rudder Theatre.
