Campus Speakers & Headliners (U)

<p>Julissa Calderon is an actress, writer, producer, and director from Miami. She is best known for playing the dynamic role of Yessika Castillo, a strong-willed activist, in the MACRO/Netflix series, <em>Gentefied</em>.

<p>Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Peabody Award, and Edward R. Murrow Award, Caitlin Dickerson engages audiences on the power of journalism, telling stories of remarkable resilience and hope from around the world.</p><p>From Ukraine to Romania to Guatemala, Caitlin Dickerson has spent years covering refugees and other humanitarian crises for some of the nation’s foremost news outlets.

<p>Brendan Hunt is an actor and writer best known for co-creating the international smash hit TV comedy <i>Ted Lasso</i>, in which he also plays Coach Beard.</p><p>A Chicago native, he is a veteran of sketch and improv comedy, typified by his time with Amsterdam’s notorious Boom Chicago, where he performed with Jason Sudeikis, Seth Meyers, Jordan Peele, Amber Ruffin and other notables.

<p>Jessica Pressler is a contributing editor at <i>Vanity Fai</i>r.

<p>Growing up in inner-city Newark, New Jersey, Sampson Davis and two friends made a pact to “beat the street” and become doctors—and they did it.</p><p>Today, Dr. Sampson Davis is a board-certified ER physician who has appeared on numerous talk and radio shows including <i>Oprah</i>, <i>CNN</i>, <i>The Today Show</i>, <i>Dr. Oz</i>, <i>Anderson Cooper 360</i>, <i>The View</i>, <i>Tavis Smiley</i> and <i>NPR</i>.

<p>Shaquem Griffin, the first one-handed former NFL linebacker in history, played four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins before retiring in 2022.</p><p> Now a sought-after motivational speaker, he has inspired D1 Power 4 programs, pro teams, Fortune 500 companies, and more, around the world. He serves as an Advisor for a Venture Capitol, BIG12 Alumni Counsel Member, and startup advisor. Co-founder of Consumer Launch Pad and Y.O.U.

<p>Weijia Jiang is CBS News' senior White House correspondent based in Washington, D.C. Jiang's reporting is featured across all CBS News broadcasts and platforms, including the "<i>CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell</i>," "<i>CBS Mornings</i>" and <i>CBSN</i>, CBS News' 24/7 streaming news service.</p><p> Jiang has covered the White House beat since 2018, including the transition between the Trump and Biden administrations.

<p>Owner of the Dominique Dawes Gymnastics & Ninja Academies, Dominique opened the gyms to continue her commitment to developing a healthy and compassionate culture in the sport of gymnastics. Her first academy opened in the midst of a global pandemic, in July 2020, her second location opened in 2023, and she will be opening her third Academy in 2024 located in Columbia, MD. Dawes holds minority ownership of the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League, and she also became part of the Atlanta Falcons ownership group as a Limited Partner in 2024.

<p>Since bringing home the Gold and Silver medals from the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Laurie has won the coveted Mirror ball trophy on <em>Dancing with the Stars </em>Season 23 and published her first <em>NYT</em> Best Selling book titled<em> I Got This: To Gold and Beyond</em></p><p> In 2018, she released a <em>NYT </em>Best Seller children’s picture book<em> She’s Got This,</em> and Mattel created a Laurie Hernandez <em>Shero </em>Barbie to honor her and her Latina heritage.

<p>Captain Sandy is a leader, hero and businesswoman whose exceptional leadership style has helped her to break through every obstacle in her path – from the glass ceilings and near-fatal accidents on land to pirates and fires at sea!</p>