Weber, a renowned speaker, author and American Ninja Warrior competitor, spoke at Elon on Wednesday, Nov. 15.
Elon fraternity Beta Theta Pi hosted world-renowned speaker, author, and American Ninja Warrior competitor Alex Weber for its yearly keynote speech event on Wednesday, Nov. 15, with over 100 students attending.
The event was also sponsored by other fraternities including Alpha Epsilon Pi, Delta Upsilon and Zeta Beta Tau. Other event sponsors included the Student Government Association, the Center for Leadership, Campus Recreation and Wellness and the Elon Club Baseball team.
“My fraternity helped sponsor the event and that’s how I heard about it,” said Grant Alpern ’26, “Weber seemed like a really interesting speaker and I was curious to hear more about his life.”
Before the speech started, there was a 30-minute tabling event when the leadership members of the sponsoring organizations could engage with attendees and Weber, share their experiences, and give advice to their peers.
Weber began his address by sharing stories of how his experiences throughout college and as a young adult impacted who he is today and how much the decisions you make at the adolescent stage can impact you for years to come.
Weber attended the University of Pennsylvania on lacrosse scholarship and was in a fraternity, which resonated with several attendees who were fraternity members. Throughout his speech, Weber paused to allow the audience time to reflect on their personal experiences related to what he was saying. He provided them the opportunity to change their mindset and look at challenges they may be facing from a different, more positive perspective.
Weber also shared stories of substance use throughout his time in his fraternity in college, hosting and then training for the NBC hit game show American Ninja Warrior, his mother’s journey with cancer and many more.
Weber’s mother was diagnosed with stage four cancer in 2019. To encourage her to keep fighting and make her proud, he decided to compete on American Ninja Warrior after being a host on one of their shows years before. After two years of vigorous training and a painful broken bone, Weber finally was invited to compete in 2021 with his mother there as his honored guest. His mother is still fighting her disease and getting stronger each day, he shared.
When asked what the most important takeaway from Weber’s speech was, Max Weinhaus ‘25 mentioned the point about giving all of yourself to your goals no matter how hard it is.
“I learned that rather than avoiding the truth, we should embrace the challenges knowing that our challenges create our gifts. His main message about giving all of yourself to your goals was the most inspiring and impactful,” Weinhaus said.
To find more information about other opportunities for leadership advice and training, visit the Elon Center for Leadership website.