Elizabeth Ellis, Joseph Sohm and Anne Marie Hauser all have one thing in common — they’ve overcome hardships to reach their current success.
These three speakers will be presenting at the Tell Your Story Leadership Forum on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. at Rudder Theatre. Each speaker will talk for approximately 40 minutes. At the end, there will be refreshments and each speaker will have a table set up where guests are encouraged to ask questions.The event is open to the public and tickets will be sold for $5.
The Tell Your Story Forum aims to help students with their ambitions and passions, according to Rachael Dick, assistant director of the Tell Your Story Leadership Forum and education senior.
“We do this every year by holding a forum,” Dick said. “We invite three speakers who have experienced successes and failures throughout their life to share their story and to show where [they are] today.”
Dick has been active in the organization over the past three years, serving on the executive committee and as a host before stepping into her current role as the director. Her responsibilities have included many administrative and behind the scenes duties, such as touching base with other executive members, assisting them and guiding them with decisions and maintaining the website.
Dick said each of the three speakers were specifically selected to represent different backgrounds and will be speaking about their diverse life experiences. The speakers hope to connect with the audience through their stories and inspire them to share their own experience, according to Dick.
According to the Tell Your Story website, Joseph Sohm is a former history teacher who always had a love for photography. The website said he created a multimedia package titled “Visions of America,” which aims to capture the American spirit.
Ann Marie Hauser, Class of 1997 and Bryan-College Station native, has served as vice president of corporate communications at JP Morgan Chase, a spokesperson at the United States Department of Treasury and is currently the Deputy Staff Director at the Senate Republican Conference.
Elizabeth Ellis is a World War II survivor from East Prussia who had to evade both Hitler’s and Stalin’s army with her family. According to the Tell Your Story website, Ellis’ journey is about taking your life back when it has been taken from you.
Amanda Barletta, communication senior, has been part of Tell Your Story Forum the last three years and said she hopes to do something great with her life after hearing several inspiring stories over the years.
“Every year I have become more and more inspired by the forum speakers and I am so proud that I get to help put this on for the students at Texas A&M,” Barletta said.
The Tell Your Story Forum was founded in 2010 by Paige Smiley-Robinson during her senior year. According to the Tell Your Story website, the seeds of Paige’s dreams for the forum were first planted at a leadership conference she attended her freshman year.
Barletta said she hopes the forum will one day sell out Rudder.
“We want to get as many people to come to the forum as possible, so I think as years go on and more people know what Tell Your Story is all about and what it represents, people will get the word out,” Barletta said.