Comedian, actor, author and educator Bill Cosby spoke to around 500 students, faculty and staff for about two hours on Oct. 10 at the Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center as part of the Office of Student Affairs’ “Life 101 … Personally Speaking” series.
Mark Cavanaugh, associate professor in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences’ Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences hosted the event and spoke with Cosby — who wore an NSU sweatshirt — about his life, before opening up the floor for a question and answer session with students.
The evening began with Cavanaugh introducing Cosby and “Life 101” to loud applause. The 76-year-old comedian appeared to captivate the audience, as he discussed the importance of education.
“On Wikipedia, it says I dropped out of high school … but what it doesn’t tell you is that I was 19-and-a-half years old,” Cosby recounted, about his experience with Central High School in Philadelphia.
He soon enlisted in the Navy, where he worked in physical therapy, helping soldiers and civilians rehabilitate from horrific injuries. Cosby was particularly impacted by a man whom he helped to gain mobility after a stroke.
“I realized I had played with this human soul, with his wish, with his mind,” Cosby said.
He later decided to pursue a degree in education and enrolled at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he won a track and field scholarship and took remedial classes. A composition professor inspired his artistic aspirations, after Cosby earned high praise for crafting a story about his first lost tooth. The encouragement from his professor made him realize that his ideas had value and that he had comedic talents.
In addition to his natural talents, Cosby said that accepting challenges, studying, not letting small things defeat him and being courageous were the keys to his success. He also reiterated the importance of friendship, integrity and truth in college.
During the question and answer session, an audience member asked Cosby how he encourages people to participate in global affairs. Cosby answered that he thought it was important to study humanities.
“You get to know human beings without trying to fix them or steal their land or take away their pride,” Cosby said. “You really and truly learn to understand people.”
Another student asked Cosby how he would encourage young men to reignite the value of family and morals in the U.S. In his answer, Cosby emphasized friendship, integrity and truth.
“Put yourself with people who are good people. People who don’t demand that you do something that puts you in harm’s way. Don’t make the bite of your goal so big that you can’t chew it,” he said. “Believe that everything that’s put to you, you should know about it, but you don’t have to be foolish when you know it’s a challenge that will threaten your well-being — monetarily, physically, mentally. And by all means, take what I just said and try to figure that out.”
Many students said they enjoyed hearing about Cosby’s experiences and even learned a lot from his tales.
Taylor Brown, junior business management major, said, “My favorite part of the show was how relatable everything was. He really did try to impart direct knowledge to us. He left it up to us to interpret anything.”
Andrew Bell, senior marketing major, said, “Everything he spoke was true … Success is not easy and you have to work to get it.”
Christian Osorno, freshman computer engineering major, said he went to see Cosby because he thought it would be interesting to see someone who’s considered a role model. Osorno said he liked that Cosby encouraged students to make the most out of college.
“He was funny at first, but you could tell that whatever he was telling you, there was a deeper meaning behind it,” Osorno said.
Miguel Cobar, freshman pre-nursing major, grew up watching “The Cosby Show” and wasn’t disappointed by the comedian’s appearance.
“He was honest,” Cobar said. “He was exactly how he was in the show. It was much more fun than I thought it would be. It was funny and serious and inspirational.”
