By Laura Hall and Cheri Hawkins
The Program Committee for the 2015 NIRSA Annual Conference & Recreational Sports Expo—which is being held at the Gaylord Texan from March 30-April 2—could not be more thrilled to announce that Alvin Law and Paul Wesselmann have been confirmed as keynote speakers for the event.
Law, an author and Certified Speaking Professional, will kick off the conference while Wesselmann, also known as “The Ripples Guy,” will speak at the Closing General Session.
Alvin Law
Alvin Law is an independent, professional speaker whose many awards include Outstanding Young Canadian, Inaugural Inductee of the Professional Speakers Hall of fame, Mount Royal University’s Most Distinguished Alumnus, and Queen Elizabeth Jubilee Medal recipient. He is the author of the Canadian Bestseller Alvin’s Laws of Life, and has helped to raise over $175 million for various charities.
Law’s unique road to success makes him a perfect fit for the “Moving Our Values Forward”-themed conference. The challenges he has overcome—and blossomed with—not only reveal the extraordinary capabilities of the human spirit, but illustrate where hope, strength, determination, and love can take a person if given the chance.
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Law was born without arms after his birth mother—who, like thousands of mothers across the world at the time, believed the drug was safe—took a couple pills of Thalidomide for morning sickness. His stricken parents gave him up for adoption with the hope that someone out there was more prepared for the challenges of raising him.
Foster parents Hilda and Jack Law took in neglected and abused children, giving them the love and encouragement they needed to one day become eligible for adoption. In 1960, they were presented with the most disturbing case they had ever seen—and they still decided to take in the sickly, deformed baby whose short future seemed certain.
Hilda did manage to nurse Alvin back to health and through the Law’s faith and dedication, little Alvin learned to use his feet for hands. He attended regular schools in a day when handicapped children were relegated to institutions or schools that segregated them from the “normal” students. Fortunately, remarkable teachers saw his potential and worked with the family to help develop it. Alvin later became an award-winning musician, and graduated from both high school and college with honors before embarking on a career in Broadcasting.
“I am very excited to have Alvin as the opening keynote for NIRSA 2015,” says Demon Pryor, a 2015 Conference Program Committee Member. “After speaking to him I get a real sense that he understands what we do and how we contribute daily to the lives of students on our campuses. Alvin will be able to speak to the diversities of our Association and our values. His ability to motivate and encourage will be an awesome start to what we feel will be an amazing conference!”
Learn more about Law’s inspirational journey on his website, and get excited to hit the ground running at NIRSA 2015!
Paul Wesselmann
Paul Wesselmann, “The Ripples Guy,” is not only returning to NIRSA for the 2015 Annual Conference, he will act as the Closing General Session keynote speaker. Wesselmann will wrap up NIRSA 2015 with a motivating, thought-provoking, inspirational call to action.
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Over 30,000 people currently subscribe to his Ripples emails, and thousands more engage with him on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Wesselmann is treasured as an outstanding NIRSA supporter and has presented at dozens of NIRSA national, regional, and state gatherings. He consistently receives rave reviews, and we are excited to have him close NIRSA 2015!
In 1999, while working at Beloit College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wesselmann began sending out a weekly splash of inspiration that earned him the nickname “The Ripples Guy.” He has been on the go ever since, visiting hundreds of campuses and organizations around North America, encouraging students and staff to “bring their FULL and BEST selves to school, work, and life.”
“I am both deeply humbled and incredibly excited to deliver the closing keynote address next spring,” says Wesselmann. “My intention is for an upbeat and reflective ‘capstone experience’ that will inspire conference participants to reflect on the topics and ideas they explored in workshops, identify individuals to connect with, and identify concrete actions before we reconvene in Florida for NIRSA 2016. I also plan to provide a fresh take on [NIRSA’s Strategic Values] and offer some specific ideas on how to use them as guideposts or goals.”
Kim Schmidt, Co-Chair of the Conference Program Committee, says she “cannot think of a better or more enjoyable way to close out the 2015 conference. Paul’s humor, high-energy, and ‘tell it like it is’ style has made him a crowd favorite!”