Former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young visited Kennesaw State’s campus Thursday, March 8, to speak with an American government class.
The recently-formed School of Government and International Affairs hosted an event for Young’s visit. A private luncheon was held where student leaders and faculty could meet with him informally and ask questions. Following the luncheon, Young had the opportunity to speak to an American government class.
“We thought that would be an appropriate course because that’s where people are really learning about the inner workings of the government,” said Kerwin Swint, director of the School of Government and International Affairs.
Young spent the first 20 minutes of the class speaking about his experiences as a civil rights leader and his time with the U.N. as an ambassador. The rest of the time was spent with students asking Young questions.
The students were interested in Young’s experience, and many of them asked questions about his role as mayor of Atlanta, his time with Martin Luther King Jr. and his time as an ambassador.
One student asked Young about his approaches as an ambassador, and Young told a story about when he invited visiting Chinese delegates to his home for dinner, bringing up his approach of familiarity.
Young invited the group of 15 delegates, along with their families, to his home where his wife and mother cooked a typical southern meal for the group. The goal was to show hospitality and that the delegates were welcome in the home.
Another student asked about Young’s opinion on the current political climate and how college students are affected by it.
“You don’t necessarily have to go and create conflict because the conflict will come to you at some point,” Young replied. “You have to be ready for it when it does.”
Young continually brought up the idea that college students need to be prepared for the real world. He also brought up the Parkland shooting, mentioning that conflict had come to those students early in their life and that they would “spend the rest of their lives dealing with the incident.”
Swint expressed his excitement for Young’s visit and said he reached out to Young because he is a moral role model and a local presence. Swint also brought up Young’s religious background, saying that he believes it helped Young develop humility and an eagerness to serve his community. Young expressed interest in returning to the school later on.
The School of Government and International Affairs aims to give students more chances to establish relationships with officials in the future. Swint mentioned the abundance of officials in Atlanta interested in serving their community and hopes many of them will be willing to visit KSU in the future.
