The Mark Conference set out to inspire action among students and encourage them to think critically about the "mark" they will leave on the world around them. When we use phrases like "the real world" to characterize what students will do after graduation, students often believe that what they do during college is some sort of simulated experience. The leadership office wants to dispel that myth and empower students to think of themselves as agents of change not only on campus but within the community and the world. This conference will showcase speakers that rose to the occasion and made their mark on society in a variety of different ways.
Janet Mock is a writer and activist, who shared her teenage transition story in Marie Claire and a video testimony for the It Gets Better project in 2011. A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Janet speaks out about the portrayal, struggles and triumphs of transgender women, founded and runs the digital campaign #GirlsLikeUs to empower trans women, and wrote the forthcoming book, Fish Food: A Memoir, which will be published by Atria Books in October 2013. Janet, who's committed to challenging society's limited portrait of womanhood, was named The Grio's 100 most influential people, Sundance Channel's Top 10 LGBT voices, and GBM News' 15 Most Powerful LGBT Figures in 2012. She can next be seen in the documentary The LGBTQQA List by famed photographer and director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders in June 2013 and will serve as writer and consultant on Janet Jackson's upcoming documentary TRUTH.
