A University of Wisconsin alumnus and nationally recognized public speaker encouraged graduating UW seniors to seek out a worthy cause and “always make time to do the right thing,” Monday at the Pyle Center.
“My message is one of action,” said Neil Willenson, founder and CEO of One Heartland — a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids with or affected by HIV/AIDS. “I don’t tell you what to do, I just tell you to act. There is so much crap in this world you can’t control, but for the things that you can control, it’s really a privilege to be able to act. Follow your heart and your gut.”
Willenson discussed his grassroots efforts that began when he was 22 years old
and led to the creation of the multimillion-dollar foundation.
Inspired by an article about AIDS found while taking out the trash, Willenson spent the majority of his first year after college raising $60,000 and finding kids, staff, doctors and nurses so he could make his organization a reality.
“It was fueled by passion,” Willenson said. “We had no strategic plan, no rich people to help … but if you have something you truly believe in, you just keep on going.”
Willenson told personal accounts of inspirational tales and the effect helping others had on his life, and urged students not to be discouraged by times of sadness that inevitably occur in the process of community service.
“It feels good to look in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, at least I learned something,'” Willenson said. “It feels good to help, even if you can’t solve all the problems.”
Overall, students reacted positively to the speaker.
UW sophomore Bryan Tublin said he was inspired to help others.
“He was good, he really made you think about the impact you could have,” Tublin said. “It’s easy to look at everything and read it and not take action, but knowing you can help someone and having it in the back of your mind that you can help with different causes is a really good thing.”
Tublin added Willen-son’s speech was especially beneficial for graduating seniors who are moving on to the next stage of life.
“It’s something we should think about, maybe not right away, but maybe in 10 years or something it will be good to think about it and contribute to something that you care about,” Willenson said.
UW senior Mary Jean Ruhnke said though the speech was not what she expected, Willenson conveyed an important and beneficial lesson.
Ruhnke said Willenson’s background as a UW student added to the effectiveness of the speech.
“I think he was great and inspiring,” Ruhnke said. “I think people should pursue interests that could make a difference. It is all about one person standing up and speaking out about an issue or making a change. [Willenson] has got an inspirational story and … hopefully someone in this audience will one day feel the calling and be called to action internally and make a difference.”
Anyone interested in donating to One Heartland is encouraged to do so by visiting Oneheartland.org.
