Photo by Maria Grosso

The board members for the ThinkPinkKids Club and the Women’s Empowerment Club with Ambassador Nancy Brinker after her key note speech. (From left, back row) Strings junior Fabiola Plaza, communications sophomore Taylor Rich, strings senior Rachel Randolph, communications senior Sydney McAuliffe, strings senior Giselle Graham, keyboard sophomore Catherine Zeng, communications junior Maria Grosso, and visual arts junior Emily Gerstein. (From left, front row) Strings senior Kaye Guardiario, digital media sophomore Beatrice hood, strings sophomore Juliet Schriber, theatre senior Katherine Schauer, and theatre junior Katelyn Megan Walsch.

This week, Dreyfoos welcomed two prominent guest speakers, Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and James Patterson, notable author.
Ambassador Brinker spoke with Dreyfoos students on April 15. Her life long career in philanthropy, captivating personal stories and role in the fight to end breast cancer inspired the ThinkPINKkids club president and strings senior Rachel Randolph and The Women’s Empowerment Club president and communications senior Sydney McAuliffe to invite her to be this year’s keynote speaker.

“It was special for both of our clubs to collaborate and work towards a common goal. [Randolph] and I worked well as a team because we have different strengths,” McAuliffe said. “We’ve been preparing for this event for months. We encountered obstacles with date changes, which was out of our control. However, we learned to cope with the setbacks and eventually prepare for a successful event.”

Ambassador Brinker spoke to Dreyfoos students about how Susan G. Komen for the Cure was founded, the importance of breast cancer awareness and social barriers between women. She emphasized how one person must follow their own path, and then their goals can be achieved.

James Patterson, author of largely known novels such as the Alex Cross series, Maximum Ride and I Funny spoke to Dreyfoos students on April 17 and introduced himself by saying, “Hello, I’m Stephen King.” He spoke about how he progressed throughout his writing career, keeping confidence and maintaining balance.

“Let passion be the main reason you choose what to do,” Patterson said. “My passion for [writing] stories is the way I made my living.”
In his speech, he emphasized the importance of passion and how one must utilize a positive attitude to move forward. After his speech, 30 students who held an interest for writing, and applied for the opportunity attended a writing workshop taught by Mr. Patterson.
“I’m a huge fan of Mr. Patterson’s work,” communications sophomore Jessica Taylor said. “I feel very fortunate that I was able to attend his writing workshop. I learned a lot from it.”