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High school is a launching pad for entering the world in a positive way, according to Liberty High School’s assembly speaker Samantha Wilson.

The associate vice president for Student Life at Southern Wesleyan University was the guest speaker for the assembly. The gathering recognized Black History Month.

Wilson told the students that people who are discounted or rejected often come together to make a difference in the world.

“Rejection has historically had a way of unifying people,” she said. Wilson cited civil rights icon Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her bus seat to a white man.

“She truly rocked this nation during her life,” Wilson said. “She was unassuming – a quiet riot, I would call her.”

Parks’ impact on the world was profound and, perhaps unanticipated, Wilson said.

“My guess is that Rosa didn’t know when and where she would enter history,” she said. “When and where will you enter history?” Wilson asked the student body.

She urged the students to be agents of reconciliation and a new generation of unified people, and thereby impact the course of history.

Wilson received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Tougaloo College in Mississippi and a master’s degree in educational and counseling psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She is currently pursuing a PhD from the University of Georgia-Athens in student affairs administration. She is a licensed professional counselor in the state of Georgia and a national certified counselor.

Wilson has held numerous organizational and professional positions including: career and personal counselor; professional counselor, project director for several alcohol abuse prevention grants, and director of student life. She has presented at a number of professional conferences around the country on topics related to alcohol, diversity, spirituality, multiculturalism, counseling and student conduct.

Wilson is an active member of Valley Brook Outreach Baptist Church, in Pelzer.