Buies Creek, N.C.—Stedman Graham, best-selling author and CEO of a management and marketing consulting company, shared his formula for a rich and successful life with students from the Campbell University School of Pharmacy. Graham was the keynote speaker at the school’s opening convocation ceremony on Thursday, August 28.“I know all of you would like to ask me what Oprah is doing,” said Graham, who is Oprah Winfrey’s long time companion. The audience erupted and the ice was broken for Graham’s compelling message on how to avoid the daily grind and lead a dynamic life.“You’ve got the same 24 hours that I do,” he said. “The question is what you do with your 24 hours.”His advice, set forth in his best-selling book “You Can Make It Happen: A Nine-Step Message,” urged students to think and find out who they are, define themselves, rather than letting other people define them, set goals and come up with a long-range plan.Graham, who was raised in a poverty-stricken area near Chicago with two disabled brothers, said it took him many years to really come to know himself.“I worked in the prison system, joined the service, played ball in Europe until I realized one day, ‘I’m not free,’” he said. “That is when he developed his model for success and wrote his bestselling book.Since that time Graham has authored nine other books, including the best-selling “Teens Can Make It Happen: Nine Steps to Success.”“You have an opportunity at Campbell University because you have all this knowledge,” he said. “Take this information and make it relative to your own growth.”Over 400 new and returning students, faculty, members of the Dean’s Advisory Board and others attended the service.Campbell President Jerry M. Wallace gave a special welcome to the students. “You make me Campbell proud,” he said, “because of your love and devotion to this Pharmacy School, the tremendous success it has achieved and the special opportunities you’ve helped create.”The Campbell University School of Pharmacy was established in 1986 as the first new school of pharmacy to open in the United States in 35 years. In 1990, the charter class distinguished itself with a 100 percent passage rate on state and national board examinations. Subsequent classes have maintained a record of 99 percent passage rate on the national board exam and 99 percent on state board exams. The School is a member of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Additional courses are taught at the School of Pharmacy Department of Clinical Research located on Campbell University’s RTP campus.Photo Copy: Author, educator and entrepreneur Stedman Graham spoke at the opening convocation ceremony of the Campbell University School of Pharmacy. (Photo by Bennett Scarborough)Bulletin: 0002Date: 8/29/08
Graham captivates audience at opening convocation