We Met Nick Kristof!

Kristof autographed copies of "Half the Sky" for those who attended his lecture.

If She’s the First created a list of our heroes, the top of the list would probably be filled with the directors and founders of our partner organizations, who have shown their passion through the sweaty days spent on the ground, working to ensure a sound education for girls across the globe. Our role model non-profit, charity : water, would be up there, as would Queen Rania and some of the many nonprofits we’ve met here in the States. Also on that list would be Nick Kristof, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the New York Times and advocate for girls’ education — and tonight, the members of STF*{Syracuse} and I met him!

First up was a Q&A with a small group of students, which I attended with Chelsea Orcutt, President of STF*{Syracuse}. Kristof hit on the importance of social media — in his words, he thinks “conventional media will drop the ball;” social media can fill in the lapses in mainstream media that can result from the ratings game. He’s also interested in social media as a new business model for journalists. You know he’s taking advantage of it, if you follow him on Twitter, and you’ve probably also realized how strongly we agree with him on that point!

While lecturing at Syracuse University, Kristof shows a picture of a girl who was first in her family to graduate.

When it came time for his lecture, Kristof hit on the importance of educating girls. “There are no quick fixes in the developing world,” he said, “but maybe the closest we have is education.” The ripple effect of educating girls extends to improving all areas of poverty. He even showed a picture of a girl who was the first in her family to graduate!

At the end of his lecture, Kristof talked about how the audience can get involved and make a difference — and he mentioned She’s the First! We’re only a few days into our second year, and Nick Kristof himself mentioned us to a crowd of over 1,000 people! I was (and am) grinning from ear to ear.

There will be more pictures soon, but in the meantime, check out the hashtag #KristofSays on Twitter to see some of his quotes throughout the day. And of course, don’t forget to check out Kristof’s weekly column!