On Friday February 3, the Black Student Union (BSU) hosted a Motivational Speaker event in Dodd’s Auditorium featuring a keynote address

by Dr. Farrah Gray. A millionaire at just 14-years-old, Dr. Gray is known as one of the youngest African American self-made millionaires.

Gray grew up poor in Chicago, Illinois, and at a young age realized he wanted to be successful. His goal was to retire his mother and grandmother, and he achieved this in less than 14 years. He started his own business at six-years-old where he sold homemade lotion to people in his neighborhood. His drive and determination led him to success early on, initiating business ventures that proved to be very profitable. A motivated individual, he never let anyone get him down.

He spoke of how his age played in a major role in how his friends, colleagues, and family treated him. “Don’t let anyone’s perception of you become your reality,” Gray said. Emphasizing that you must follow your dreams no matter what people say or think about you. He went on to talk about people in the Black Community and how we must work hard to better ourselves, not only for our communities, but also for the people who sacrificed everything to put us in the position we are in today. “We’re not at the table, we’re on the menu,” he states saying that we don’t produce our own.

He also stated that we need to be looking at opportunities and working together to be successful. He challenged us to work harder and push ourselves: “never settle for anything; have the vision and tenacity to make it happen.” He told us fear is what holds us back from achieving success, and believes college serves as the purpose for students to grow and find themselves. In order to be successful he says, we first have to look at what it is others compliment about us, and believe we can achieve success.

He closed out his speech telling everyone to never forget where he or she comes from, and always be willing to give back.