Brian McDonald '01, a social studies teacher at Jordan High School in Durham, said "enlightening" speakers he heard while at Elon prompted him to create something similar for high school students.
A 2001 alumnus recently pointed to his experiences listening to visiting speakers during his time at Elon as the motiviation to create a speaker series at the Durham high school where he has taught since graduating.
“All of these folks came to campus and it was enlightening,” McDonald told the newspaper, talking about hearing speakers while a student at Elon. “It was a sense of enrichment that I truly valued and I thought, there is no reason this can’t happen on the high school level.”
The series at Jordan High School begins Feb. 16 and features a former Jordan student, George Masao Yamazawa, a renowned spoke word artist who goes by the stage name “G.” Others to be featured during the series include author and historian Tim Tyson and U.S. Rep. David Price. The series is headed McDonald and the school’s social studies department.
McDonald earned his degree in history education and began teaching at Jordan following graduation. He was named Teacher of the Year by Durham Public Schools and in 2013 was named a Claes Nobel Educator of the Year by the National Society of High School Scholars.