MSU NEWS SERVICE
BOZEMAN
– Tara Westover, author of a bestselling memoir on the transformative power of education,
will speak at Montana State University’s 2019 Convocation on Aug. 22.
Westover
is best known for her courageous personal journey detailed in her memoir “Educated.”
Westover was born to survivalist parents who opposed public education and grew
up near Buck’s Peak in Southeastern Idaho. She was forbidden to attend school,
have a birth certificate or see a doctor. Yet she taught herself enough
mathematics, grammar and science to take the ACT, and was admitted to Brigham
Young University when she was 16. She graduated magna cum laude from BYU in
2008 and won the Gates Cambridge Scholarship. She earned a doctorate in history
from Trinity College, Cambridge, and has been a visiting fellow at Harvard
University.
MSU
President Waded Cruzado believes Westover’s personal story will inspire the
incoming freshman class, as well as members of the MSU and Bozeman community.
“This
is the most powerful book we have read for convocation,” Cruzado said. “‘Educated’
is a memorable book that gets to the heart of what education is and what it
offers. In a very powerful and courageous way, Westover emphasizes the
transformative quality of education, the perspective to see one’s life through
new eyes and the will to change it.”
The
general public must reserve tickets, available beginning Monday, June 10, at
the Bobcat Ticket Office and all Ticketswest outlets.
