After graduating college and leaving his job on Wall Street, New York Times Best-Seller Adam Braun decided to work for a purpose, not to increase his wealth.
That is exactly the message Braun delivered at Pruis Hall Oct. 17 to students during his talk, "The Importance of Being a Global Citizen."
Pruis Hall was filled with students, all eager to hear Braun’s message and learn about Pencils of Promise, an organization with the goal of education for everyone.
Braun wanted to emphasize to students that he started his organization, Pencils of Promise with $25 and a goal to build a school in honor of his grandma. All of the donations to build the first school in 2008 came from coverage charges from his birthday party.
Braun told his friends that he wanted to host a 20th birthday party for himself and have people pay $5 to get in. All of that money would be donated to a charity.
He continued to do this until he had enough money to open a school in Laos. Since then, Pencils of Promise has opened more than 360 schools that serve almost 34,000 students.
Raegan Allen, a freshman actuarial science major, said she was “very motivated by his message.”
“I feel like his birthday request was very unique and a good way to start his organization without a large amount of cash,” Allen said.
Braun talked to students about lessons that he has learned in life. All of these points were followed by a story that inspired him. Among Braun's tips were to "say yes to scary stuff."
"Break out of your comfort zones. Do the stuff that scares you because you never know where that opportunity will take you," he said.
Braun also told students that no action is too small to be a start, and that they should bring value to at least one person in every room they enter.
"If you walk into a room and try to help at least person, it can make a huge impact on the world and their life," he told the audience.
The tips Braun shared resonated with audience members like Allen.
“His lessons were very inspirational and good points that I am going to follow,” said Allen, “I think it is something that we can all learn from to help make a difference.”
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