Singleton Scores with Cape Henry

The Cape Henry community welcomed distinguished speaker Chris Singleton to campus last Wednesday. Ben Schwantes, Class of 2020, admitted previous speakers had created “unrealistic expectations” that students could not connect with. When asked about Singleton, Sam Goshgarian, Class of 2020, stated he delivered “the same message that we heard before from a different perspective,” revealing he wishes “Cape Henry would bring in different types of speakers.”

Barrett Nickles, Class of 2020, disagreed, as he remarked: “we haven’t been talked to about racism or equality by a speaker in the last four years.” Singleton’s message was driven by the murder of his mother in the Charleston shooting, an event fueled by racism and hatred. Singleton ended with the message “love is stronger than hate.” Nickles noted that the speaker focused more on “love rather than racism,” as Mrs. Gregory interjected “forgiveness” was another major part of his message. Singleton stated that 10% of our lives are factors beyond our control and 90% is how we react to that adversity, a point that resonated deeply with the audience. Both Nickles and Goshgarian revealed the 90/10 aspect of Singleton’s presentation was their favorite.

When asked if she felt Singleton’s message was captivating, Karissa Jiang, Class of 2020, positively stated, “he engaged with the audience by tapping a front-row audience member.” Goshgarian also eagerly recalled, “the part where he made us hug everyone.” Chris Singleton was well received by most of the Cape Henry Collegiate community through the interactive aspects of his speech, while simultaneously leaving an impact through the message he shared about forgiveness and optimism.