Come see John Grisham speak on campus at the Eve Marie Carson memorial lecture series

Eve Carson began a lecture series during her time as Student Body President to bring inspiring speakers to campus. Now, more than a decade after her 2008 death, the tradition continues with a lecture by world-famous author John Grisham on Feb. 28. 

The Carolina Women’s Leadership Council and Student Government put on the lecture series every year to continue Carson's vision and honor her memory.

Lanier Brown May, founder of Carolina Women’s Leadership Council, knew Carson personally and was there when she began the lecture series. She said Carson’s vision was that the series be free and open to the public and that it would inspire and motivate the community. 

“We’re very thoughtful about who we bring on because we want them to reflect what Eve’s vision was for this,” May said. 

She said they want to have speakers who are thought-provoking and will inspire philanthropy. 

Grisham, this year's speaker, is involved in the Innocence Project, which advocates for the wrongly convicted. May said Grisham will be speaking free of charge. 

Carolina Roundtable, a Student Government committee, works together with the Women’s Leadership Council to put on the lecture series.

Carolina Roundtable co-chair Kathryn Long said she thinks it will be interesting for students to hear Grisham speak on what he’s passionate about, and that it's important to give students the chance to interact with somebody who may be a role model for them. 

May said that the council gets notes every year from students who were inspired by the speaker.

“That was one of the reasons we decided to sponsor this lecture series — we wanted to be able to leave a footprint on the campus,” May said. 

Aklesia Maereg, a Carolina Roundtable co-chair, said she encourages people to attend because it is important to honor the work the Women’s Leadership Council puts into the lecture series. Maereg said it is important to honor Carson and the work she did to improve the UNC campus. 

May also encouraged students to attend because of the meaning behind the lectures.  

“I think the very essence of the lectures is what Eve was all about,” May said. 

She said she knows there are a lot of options when it comes to great lectures on campus, but that this one is very special. She said students should take advantage of the opportunity to hear someone who is not a run-of-the-mill speaker. 

“I think this is really a special one and we work really hard to make sure it’s one that people will remember,” May said.

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