MCC hopes speakers will inspire change

Monroe Community College will host two award-winning authors in March and April.

Kristof

The works of Rebecca Skloot and Nicholas Kristof have gained international attention and spurred conversations about ordinary individuals working to create solutions to social ills. By providing an opportunity to hear their stories, MCC aims to encourage meaningful dialogues and inspire positive change in the local community.

Skloot, author of the award-winning “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” will share her decade-long journey of researching and uncovering the truth about the life, death and ultimate “immortality” of Henrietta Lacks, a young African-American who died of cervical cancer in 1951. Lacks’ cells were taken without her knowledge for research and have become one of the most important tools in modern medicine. An upcoming HBO film based on the book is being produced by Oprah Winfrey and Alan Ball.
Skloot will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 11.

Kristof’s latest book, “A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity,” inspired a PBS documentary series. He will share his accounts of the world’s most pressing social problems and people who are creating solutions to make the world a better place. His lecture at MCC, presented by ESL Charitable Foundation, is the culmination of the college’s seventh annual Scholars’ Day in April. The lecture begins at 7 p.m. Monday, April 27, followed by a book signing.

Both lectures will be in the Theatre on MCC’s Brighton Campus, 1000 E. Henrietta Road. Admission is free for MCC students and employees and $7 for the general public for the Skloot lecture, and $15 for Kristof. Tickets are available at www.monroecctickets.com.