Engaging in thoughtful dialogue is not only essential in today's society, but also is a trademark of the Vanderbilt experience, which begins with the first-year experience on The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons. On Sunday, Sept. 14, author Jacqueline Woodsonspoke to a packed Langford Auditorium for the 19th Annual Lawson Lecture and offered a master class for the Class of 2029 on using storytelling to foster discourse and find connection, continuing the 2025-26 first-year programming theme of "Stories that Connect Us."

Jacqueline Woodson is a 2023 Guggenheim Fellow, a 2020 recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship (commonly known as a "Genius Grant") and a prolific author with major literary contributions in poetry and fiction. Her novel Another Brooklyn was nominated for the National Book Award in 2016. In addition to adult fiction and poetry, Woodson has also authored several young adult novels, including the 2014 Brown Girl Dreaming, which won the National Book Award, NAACP Image Award, Coretta Scott King Author Award, Newbery Honor award, and Sibert Honor award.

Following a moving introduction by her longtime friend and colleague Major Jackson, Vanderbilt professor of English, director of creative writing and Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in the Humanities, Woodson delved into how stories can help to foster mutual understanding, cultivate connection and encourage engagement in hard conversations. Offering readings from three of her published works, she reflected on the unique way stories illuminate one's humanity, while the act of receiving a story requires a posture of receptivity through active listening.

In the second half of the event, Amanda Little, Vanderbilt writer-in-residence in the Department of English and the Program in Communication of Science and Technology, applied the principles of the first-year summer assignmentas she interviewed Woodson on stage. The conversation highlighted the very skills students were asked to practice before their arrival on campus-curiosity, critical thinking and dialogue. Throughout the discussion, Woodson emphasized how integral stories are to civil discourse and a free exchange of ideas. Taking the time to sit in conversation with one another can lead us to extend grace to others, as we learn to understand another person's position without having to agree.

"The new summer assignment, in which students interviewed someone from their community, enabled students to practice the art of listening well and taking on the responsibility of telling that person's story in an authentic and accurate way, while also reflecting upon what they learned," said Tiffiny Tung, vice provost for undergraduate education. "Learning to ask thoughtful questions and listen to other people's perspectives is a crucial part of civil discourse. By listening to the stories of others, we create opportunities for understanding and for expanding one's mind, and these are ways of being that strengthen connections between members of our campus community."

The Lawson Lecture is a key component of Vanderbilt Visions, the extended orientation program for first-year students. In partnership with Dialogue Vanderbilt, this year's lecture invited students to examine their own methods of inquiry into the lived experiences of others, reflecting not only on their summer work but also on the first month of their Vanderbilt journey.

This annual lecture, hosted by Residential Colleges, honors the late Rev. James M. Lawson, a renowned civil rights activist, professor, theoretician and pastor who served as a Distinguished Professor at Vanderbilt from 2006 to 2009.