The College of New Jersey Logo

Apply     Visit     Give     |     Alumni     Parents     Offices     TCNJ Today     Three Bar Menu

Five things Soledad O’Brien wants us to remember

soledad_obrien
Soledad O’Brien spoke to a packed Kendall Hall on Sept. 30.

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, TCNJ invited award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien to share her thoughts about diversity on television and in our lives. While she spoke about her experiences as a journalist, her underlying message was universal.

Here are five key takeaways:

 

  1. Figure out what you’re passionate about and go for it. Don’t wait for people around you to give you a signal that it’s OK.
  1. Be open to uncomfortable conversations about real issues. That’s how you create truth.
  1. Words really matter, so use the right ones. Stereotypical terms like “thug” and “illegal alien” aren’t meaningful descriptions—they’re dehumanizing.
  1. People are more alike than you might recognize. If you look for the “sticky moments”—those universal pieces of the human experience—you’ll see that someone who might be totally different from you is telling your same story.
  1. Take a stand for something. If you dropped dead tomorrow, what would you want to be known for?

 

Read more about Soledad O’Brien’s talk in The Signal.


Emily W. Dodd ‘03

Top