Recent ODU Graduate Introduces Vice President Joe Biden at National Conference

July 22, 2015

Vice President Joe Biden and Kishla Conner

Recent Old Dominion graduate Kishla Conner wants the University's next crop of first year students to know, "how you start is not always how you are going to finish."

Conner's academic career finished brilliantly last week when she introduced Vice President Joe Biden to 1,300 attendees at the 2015 Make Progress National Summit for millennial student leaders. The Invitation to stand at the same podium with the nation's Vice President was the result of her tireless work with the ODU Women's Center on a White House campaign entitled, "It's On Us."

As part of the campaign, Ms. Conner, working at ODU along with a broad based team of campus leaders from student government, Greek life and various other groups, signed 1,500 Monarchs to the "It's On Us" pledge in just eight months. The online pledge asks everyone on campus to watch out for each other and to take part in preventing campus sexual assault. It can be found at the It's On Us website.

In addition to the pledge drive, Ms. Conner and her team engaged more than 700 Monarchs in a "Take Back the Night" style rally, a "Campus Kickback" dance and a dinner and movie night benefiting the YWCA's work with survivors of sexual and relationship abuse.

All this experience promoting a violence-free campus will be useful in her new position mentoring at risk adolescents. She attributes the beginning of her own success to the support and encouragement she received as a teen in a similar program many years ago. Now, she hopes to help the next generation of young people achieve, as she has, more than they first dreamed they could.

To check out a "It's On Us!" video produced by Old Dominion students, visit the Student Engagement and Enrollment Services YouTube channel.