Anastasia Broadus Welcomes Participants to United Way Education Town Hall

Anastasia Broadus Welcomes Participants to United Way Education Town Hall

Trinity freshman Anastasia Broadus of Hagerstown, Maryland, welcomed more than 200 educators and nonprofit and business leaders gathered on Trinity’s campus for the United Way National Education Town Hall today.  Here are her remarks; watch her welcome and the entire Town Hall program.

“I am pleased to welcome you to Trinity Washington University for the United Way Education Town Hall.

My name is Anastasia Broadus and I am a freshman at Trinity from Hagerstown, Maryland.  I came here for my college education because for more than 110 years, Trinity has been educating women leaders.  I am proud to follow in the footsteps of so many great Trinity women, including: the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to be Speaker of the House; Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius; and New York City Schools Chancellor Cathleen Black.

I also came here because Trinity places a high priority on education, student learning and the liberal arts; because Trinity is guided by the ethics and values of the Sisters of Notre Dame; and because the Trinity community is committed to social justice and lifelong learning.

Trinity is a community that challenges, nurtures, embraces, and prepares students to take on the world. Many of my more than 2,000 fellow Trinity students are the first in their families to attend college.  Many students are starting college after starting families and starting a career.  Most of us are holding down full-time jobs and trying to make ends meet, even as we are studying for finals and writing papers.

My own path to Trinity shows the importance of community in helping a student succeed.  I am the first person in my family to go to college.  I am very lucky to have the support of my mother and my step-father as I applied to colleges.  My guidance counselor also really helped me apply to college.  I am very fortunate to have received a lot of financial aid from Trinity to make my college education affordable.  All of that support has made my dream of college a reality.  I know that not every student has that support.

I love being a Trinity student because my professors are committed to my education, because I am respected as an individual, and because everyone here is invested in my academic success.

On behalf of President Patricia McGuire, I welcome you to the Trinity community – a community of learners, a community of leaders, and a community of empowered women.

I am honored to introduce Ms. Soledad O’Brien, who will be the moderator today.  Ms. O’Brien is a journalist with CNN.  She has reported on breaking news around the world, and she also has produced award-winning documentaries on issues that matter to the country and the world.  In 2010, she published a book entitled, “The Next Big Story: My Journey through the Land of Possibilities.”  In it, she makes clear the importance of creating opportunities for others.  And I think that’s why we are here today – to learn how to create opportunities.  Now we are going to watch a quick video from a project Ms. O’Brien is working on as part of her “Education in America Series.” Ms. O’Brien, welcome to Trinity!”