CHLOE KOWALYK
Staff Writer
On Wednesday, April 15, Chief Justice Craig D. Hannah inspired campus and community members with his motivational speech and authentic anecdotes.
Hannah serves as the Chief Judge of the Buffalo City Court and the Supervising Judge of the 11 City Courts in the Eighth Judicial District of Western New York.
After serving as the presiding judge of the first Opioid Intervention Court in the U.S. in 2017, Hannah has risen to national fame.
He has been featured on several media outlets, including The New York Times and MSNBC.
Hannah was asked by SUNY Fredonia to speak as part of the Intercultural Center’s “Success Week.”
Success Week aims to provide students with the resources they need to become successful and achieve their future goals.
With Hannah’s virtual talk, students were shown that they truly can succeed, especially in a world ravaged by COVID-19.
Given the current state of our world, many students’ vision for success is clouded, and with the effects COVID-19 has had on our world, many students feel hopeless and lost.
Despite these difficulties, Hannah assured students that they will be successful.
“All you gotta do, is you gotta strive for excellence in everything you do,” said Hannah.
Hannah asserted that if students truly apply themselves, they will be successful no matter what.
During his talk, he said there are three things students need to do to become successful: embrace failure, be creative and resourceful, stay open and willing to learn and change.
The first point is perhaps the most difficult, yet important.
Hannah emphasized that things are not always going to be easy in life. Bad things are going to happen, and not everything is going to go exactly how you expect it to. At some points in life, everyone fails.
However, to truly succeed in life, we need to be willing to accept failures and grow from them.
Repeating this phrase multiple times throughout his lecture, Hannah told students to “lift as they climb.”
He told the students that as they climb through the ranks of life, they should always lift others up with them, encouraging students to keep positive relationships with the people they interact with.
Approximately halfway through the lecture, Hannah discussed how racism is viewed as a boundary for success.
Hannah started by telling the attendees his personal experiences and interactions with racism in a professional world.
Hannah was the only Black student in his class to graduate with a law degree. Between facing modern racism and a lack of diversity in his education, Hannah dealt with a great deal of struggle.
With the racism he faced, Hannah said that sometimes it feels as though “they’re rooting for you to fail.”
Despite all of his negative experiences, Hannah told students that they still can succeed, no matter their race.
He told the students: “don’t let them win” and that a positive attitude is vital.
Hannah closed the talk by telling students that they have the ability to succeed, whether they realize it or not.
After his talk, Hannah answered questions from the attendees and focused on building the others up.
Some asked about Hannah’s professional life and others asked for further advice on how to succeed.
In his hour-long lecture, Hannah built a safe, uplifting space.
Hannah offers students his advice if they ever need it, and tells students that he’s there for them.