Skip to main content

Appalachian Today

News and events at Appalachian State University
  • Subscribe
  • For the media
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Webcams
  • Podcasts
  • In the News
  • Research & Arts
  • Awards
  • Experts
  • All News
  • Topics
  • Accolades
  • Alumni
  • Arts and Humanities
  • Athletics
  • Awards and Honors
  • Community Engagement
  • Diversity
  • Events
  • Faculty and Staff
  • Gifts and Grants
  • Global
  • Health and Wellness
  • Publications
  • Research and Creative Works
  • Safety
  • Scholarships
  • Students
  • Sustainability
☰ Menu
  • Events
  • Webcams
  • Podcasts
  • In the News
  • Research & Arts
  • Awards
  • Experts
  • All News
  • Topics
  • Subscribe
  • For the media
  • Contact

Education can be life changing, speaker says

View larger image

Ishmael Beah spoke of education’s power to transform lives during convocation Sept. 3 at Appalachian State University. (Photo by Marie Freeman)

Posted Sep. 4, 2015 at 3:21 p.m.

BOONE—Never take your college education for granted, students at Appalachian State University were told during fall convocation Sept. 3. That caveat was delivered by Ishmael Beah, author of the memoir “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier,” which was selected for the university’s Common Reading Program this year.

The book recounts Beah’s years as a child soldier, fighting for three years against rebels during Sierra Leone’s civil war starting when he was 13.

“You are among the few people in the world who have access to higher education,” Beah said. “There are many people around the world who would do anything to be in your position. So when you wake up one morning and have a lot of reading to do, I want you to put that into perspective and realize you are doing something that a lot of people in the world would do anything to have. So take advantage of that.”

Beah said his early education and stories told by elders in his community helped save him during the darkest points in his life.

“I come from a part of the world where we believe that stories are medicine that are poured into people to strengthen them for what life may throw at them – to strengthen their resolve, their character, their humanity,” he said. “As a boy growing up, I had several lessons from the oral tradition of storytelling that became part of who I am.”

Those stories included themes of making difficult decisions and the consequences of engaging in violence.

Beah, who was orphaned by the war, was one of the thousands of young boys forced to fight against rebels during Sierra Leone’s civil war. With the help of UNICEF, he was removed from the army and sent to a rehabilitation center where he learned to rejoin humanity. “I only knew violence and that’s what I wanted to go back to,” he said. While he was in the rehabilitation center, Beah said, the thirst for knowledge that his father had planted in him slowly returned.

“Something my father had said that gave me strength to survive was that if you are alive there is a possibility for something good to happen to you,” he said.

Beah was invited to travel to the United States and speak about his experiences as a boy soldier at a U.N. conference. While there, he was befriended by a UNICEF worker who later adopted him and brought him permanently to New York, where he finished high school and went on to earn a degree from Oberlin College.

“Education became a journey for me to discover my intelligence, my own humanity, to discover myself,” Beah said. “I was acquiring something that no one would ever be able to take away from me, which is the capacity to think for myself, the capacity to ask questions, the capacity to have a voice and be able to challenge ideas, to create ideas.

“You are privileged to have access to a higher education, not just to get a career, but also as a journey to discover yourself, the way you think about yourself, and to your place in the world and what you can do,” he said. “Use this time at the university to explore. You may discover things that you have a passion or talent for that you never knew existed before.”

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

Share

Topics

  • Arts and Humanities
  • Diversity
  • Global

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

Archives

Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

If you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian State University Podcasts
  • Stories and press releases published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found in University Communications Records at the Special Collections Research Center.
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

Share

Topics

  • Arts and Humanities
  • Diversity
  • Global

Other Recent Posts

  • App State nutrition students empower Watauga’s young athletes to use food as fuel for athletic performance
    App State nutrition students empower Watauga’s young athletes to use food as fuel for athletic performance
  • App State’s New River Light and Power awards scholarships to 7 Watauga County students
    App State’s New River Light and Power awards scholarships to 7 Watauga County students
  • 20 App State ROTC cadets commissioned to serve as Army second lieutenants
    20 App State ROTC cadets commissioned to serve as Army second lieutenants
  • App State awarded $2.3M to advance innovation in NC agriculture
    App State awarded $2.3M to advance innovation in NC agriculture
  • Kristen S. Bonatz appointed general counsel and vice chancellor of institutional integrity at App State
    Kristen S. Bonatz appointed general counsel and vice chancellor of institutional integrity at App State
  • Campus emergency siren test to be conducted June 4
    Campus emergency siren test to be conducted June 4
  • App State student-athletes extend 3.0 GPA streak to 26 straight semesters
    App State student-athletes extend 3.0 GPA streak to 26 straight semesters
  • App State nursing program receives $1 million commitment from Bedford Falls Foundation
    App State nursing program receives $1 million commitment from Bedford Falls Foundation
  • 4 new and reappointed App State Board of Trustees members to begin new terms July 1
    4 new and reappointed App State Board of Trustees members to begin new terms July 1
  • App State awards degrees to over 4,200 graduates ready to shape the future
    App State awards degrees to over 4,200 graduates ready to shape the future
  • Student research and creative projects spotlighted at App State’s annual showcase
    Student research and creative projects spotlighted at App State’s annual showcase
  • Will Sears appointed vice chancellor of university advancement at App State
    Will Sears appointed vice chancellor of university advancement at App State

Archives

Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

If you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian State University Podcasts
  • Stories and press releases published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found in University Communications Records at the Special Collections Research Center.
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Galleries
  • In the News
  • Research & Arts
  • Awards
  • Experts
  • All News
  • Topics
  • Subscribe
  • For the media
  • COVID updates
  • Contact

App State

Copyright 2025 Appalachian State University. All rights reserved.

University Communications
ASU Box 32153
Boone, NC 28608
828-262-6156
[email protected]

Abouts

Disclaimer | EO Policy | Accessibility | Website manager: montaldipa (beltmr) .. | Website Feedback

Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram LinkedIn Snapchat