My roommate and I are both in the honors program and were looking for an event that we could attend and fulfill our last discussion requirement. As we were discussing where to find information on events such as these, our RA, Kristen, sent us a text in GroupMe. Kristen is also a member of Honors at Stockton and just happened to send us a flyer for an event that would be happening the next day. Sophia and I then contacted the other honors students we knew to see if anyone else wanted to make the trek out to the lodge at 7 p.m. Our friend Sydney decided to join in. We all walked for 20 minutes across campus in the freezing cold, thinking that the presentation would be a packed room with a speaker that we would barely be able to hear, but what we found instead was exceedingly better.

We walked into the lodge to find a small group of 15 people, warm pizza, drinks, and a professor named Richard Miller. Professor Miller has been teaching for over 5 years at Stockton and mainly educates students on religion. The presentation was titled Connections and Shared Humanity and was advertised to focus on social justice topics, human freedom, and personal and social responsibility. But when the Professor Miller introduced his presentation, he made it clear that the main point of this discussion was listening. He had us do multiple listening activities, such as listening and staring at the person sitting next to us, as they talked for two minutes, then summarizing back as much as we could. At first, this “icebreaker” exercise made Sophia and I feel awkward mainly because although we are friendly as roommates, what friends hold eye contact for two minutes straight? Sophia talked mostly about her classes that day and her upcoming honors work, such as the essay on Gulliver’s Travels. I told Sophia about some movies that I wanted to see over the weekend, mainly Thor: Ragnarok and Call Me By Your Name. When we were done discussing what each other spoke about, Professor Miller brought up an interesting point. The more we were able to connect with the person next to us, the easier it was to listen. For example, I was able to understand what Sophia was talking about more because I share classes with her and I have a similar workload. Professor Miller explained that it will always be easier to connect, listen, understand and therefore help a person if you can stand yourself in their shoes.

As the presentation continued on Professor Miller examined why being an attentive listener can impact the people around you every day and his own personal stories where he helped his students through problems in their personal and academic life. At this point in the presentation it was clear that it was no longer a discussion on just simple listening skills and leadership skills, but on how one person with kind intentions can change multiple people’s lives. He explained the different struggles he has seen his students go through such as drugs, drinking, depression, and mental health problems; and how he helped his students overcome these difficulties through patience and understanding.

Professor Miller’s presentation really did feel like the kind of discussion our honors professors recommended we attend. It was a conversation between him and the audience, with personal stories and attentive listening on both sides. The advice and stories that Professor Miller told were very inspirational and I feel his ability to share his experiences with my friends and I will change the way we look at the people around us.