Entrepreneur and philanthropist Chris Gardner will speak at the Michael D. Rose Theatre on April 23, at 7 p.m. The lecture is sponsored by the Student Activities Council.
Tonika Ingram, the chair of SAC's Ideas and Issues Council, revealed that the decision to bring in Chris Gardner was based on a desire to bring in an inspiring keynote speaker-and the council had been discussing the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, in which Will Smith portrays Gardner.
"We wanted to bring somebody with a 'rags to riches' story," Ingram said. "I'm really excited to see the type of crowd we get."
Christopher Gardner was born in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1954. As a child he endured an abusive stepfather and a frequently jailed mother who taught him the meaning of self-reliance.
"You can only depend on yourself," Gardner quotes his mother as saying. "The cavalry ain't coming."
After a stint in the U.S. Navy, several low-paying jobs (including selling medical equipment) and a number of failed relationships, Gardner decided to become a stockbroker. He enrolled into a stockbroker-training program, enduring poverty while he learned the ropes. Bear Stearns, one of the nation's top stock brokerages, recruited him in 1982.
Even then, things weren't easy for Gardner. His second wife abandoned his toddler-aged son with him, and with only a small salary to live on, Gardner was forced into homelessness. He wandered the streets of San Francisco, trying to find food, shelter and daycare for his son.
But Gardner persevered, and, in 1987, he started Gardner Rich & Co, a brokerage firm based in Chicago, Ill. When he started the firm, he had one piece of furniture and $10,000. In 2006, he sold his stake in the company he created, earning millions of dollars in the process, and started Christopher Gardner International Holdings, a business with offices all over the country. That same year, he published his autobiography, The Pursuit of Happyness. Gardner's second book, Start Where You Are: Life Lessons in Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, was published in 2009. Both have become bestsellers. Gardner now has an estimated net worth of $60 million.
Tonika Ingram's hope is that Gardner's story will inspire students to keep reaching towards their goals, even if the cards seem stacked against them.
"No matter what you go through you can reach the goals you have," Ingram said. "I hope people take away that if you work hard, you can reach any goals that you strive to."
Admission to the lecture is free.
