BW
welcomed
Emmy
and
Golden
Globe
Award-winning
actor
Sterling
K.
Brown
for
the
2018
School
of
Business
Leadership
Lecture.
But
the
event
felt
more
like
a
warm
conversation
in
the
living
room
of
Randall
Pearson,
the
beloved
character
Brown
plays
on
the
NBC
hit
series
"This
Is
Us."
About
3,000
people
gathered
around
(in
Ursprung
Gym)
and
listened
in
as
BW
President
Bob
Helmer
peppered
the
actor
with
a
range
of
questions,
some
submitted
by
students
and
faculty
in
advance.
Valuing
time
itself
Drawing
on
his
own
personal
experiences,
Brown
spun
stories
and
shared
insightful,
life-affirming
wisdom.
He
told
the
nearly
700
freshmen
in
attendance
(First
Year
Experience
classes
will
write
reflections
on
the
talk)
that
his
own
undergraduate
experience
at
Stanford
was
one
of
the
best
periods
of
his
life
and
advised
them
to
"take
advantage
of
all
the
resources
available
to
you."
"We
spend
a
lot
of
time
in
life
on
autopilot,"
he
noted.
"I
value
time
itself."
The
down-to-earth
Brown
also
talked
about
faith,
family
and
the
joys
of
being
a
father
-
his
own
dad
died
when
he
was
just
10
-
and
the
values
that
keep
him
centered.
"There's
difference
in
what
you
do
and
who
you
are.
I
hope
that
who
I
am
outlasts
what
I
do."
Art
reflecting
life
Having
changed
his
college
major
in
midstream
from
economics
to
drama,
Brown
called
being
an
artist
"a
walk
of
faith."
On
the
power
of
storytelling,
he
added,
"As
an
artist,
you
have
an
opportunity
to
hold
up
a
mirror
to
society."
A
show
like
"This
Is
Us"
"helps
remind
people
they
are
not
by
themselves"
in
the
struggles,
joys
and
challenges
portrayed
on
screen.
Randall,
a
part
written
for
an
African
American
man,
also
allows
Brown
to
fully
inhabit
the
role
from
a
very
personal
perspective.
Spoiler
Alert
Along
with
his
views
on
weightier
topics,
Brown
offered
some
hints
about
where
Randall
is
headed
this
season
saying
there
will
be
turbulence
in
his
character's
much-admired
marriage
(#relationshipgoals)
and
a
potential
new
career
path.
At
the
end
of
the
evening,
one
attendee
said
it
best.
Sterling
K.
Brown
is
the
"real
deal!"
