Hannah Piedad | Staff Writer
July 26, 2023
Over the course of five weeks, scholars have had the privilege of hearing from four highly engaging and inspirational speakers, ranging from Centre Professor, John Kinkade, to the Governor of the Commonwealth, Andy Beshear. Anticipation for the last convocation was high, which means so were the expectations for the last speaker, Trey Grayson. Judging from audience reactions throughout Grayson’s speech, it seems as if he did not disappoint! Using anecdotes and plot lines from the Star Wars franchise, Grayson shared with scholars his top three lessons that Star Wars could teach everyone.
Convocation speaker Trey Grayson giving a speech to scholars
Photo Credits: Allie Holt | Staff Writer
The first lesson from Grayson (and Star Wars) was that it is important to be a lifelong learner. Grayson described how in Star Wars, Rey and Luke had to train to become Jedis, and Han Solo had to train for the Kessel Run, which is similar to how throughout our lives, we will have to continuously learn new things and prepare for emerging challenges. Grayson’s main advice consisted of investing in yourself by going to college and graduate school, as well as enriching your mind via museums and books.
Secondly, Grayson advised scholars to learn how to take calculated risks. Grayson recounted how when he was 30, he decided to take the calculated risk to run for Kentucky’s Secretary of State. He said he realized this was a risk worth taking by looking at the political demographics at the time, seeing what kind of support he had across the state, and analyzing his own image, more specifically, his young age. He compared taking calculated risks to the destruction of the Death Star, where he disagreed with the fact that destroying the Death Star was a one in a million chance, and the chances that it could be destroyed were actually a lot higher than originally anticipated. Similar to the success in the Death Star destruction mission, Grayson also found success in his run for Kentucky’s Secretary of State.
The third, and final, piece of advice Grayson had for scholars was to make your own destiny. He learned this lesson whenever he was filing to run for Kentucky’s Secretary for State, as he was doubting his ability to win against another rumored candidate. Grayson received some advice while filing to run from someone working in the office, which was that if he filed first, he could shape the race. This is because if he filed first, then other people would have to make the decision to run against him specifically. This could change whether potential candidates would run for a different office, or halt their campaign all together. Grayson described how this lesson aligned with another Star Wars storyline: when Luke had to face Darth Vader. It was believed that in order for Luke to defeat Darth Vader, he would have to turn to the dark side. However, not wanting to do this, Luke Skywalker decided to take a different approach by having faith that there was still some sort of good in Darth Vader, and this strategy ultimately worked. Luke Skywalker made his own destiny, just like Grayson did when he decided to file first for Kentucky’s Secretary of State.
After Grayson’s speech, he happily took questions from the audience, which ranged from questions about Star Wars to ones about his personal life. Overall, Grayson will likely be remembered as one of the most approachable and relatable speakers that GSP has seen. At the end of the night, scholars were able to walk away from the last convocation satisfied and with high spirits.
