“Integrity is how you act when no one is around and how you treat family, friends and people who can’t do anything for you” was one of the many lessons that was emphasized by our guest speaker, Corey Ciocchetti. He teaches Business Ethics and Legal Studies at the University of Denver. As the numerous students from different sororities and fraternities filled the room of the New Student Union Ballroom, they expected to be spoken to in a boring fashion from a dull lecturer, however, to the contrary, they left the room smiling and laughing with their peers after they were given an unexpectedly authentic talk about life. His talk left many students wanting to pursue positive changes. Many students were surprised to find his speech so entertaining and enjoyable.
“I thought they were just going to have someone shaking their finger at me and telling me what not to do, but it ended up being very motivational and very positive and made an impact on me,” said Hillary Nunez, a business administration major.
Allyson Gaspard, an Accounting major really enjoyed the speech because of Ciocchetti’s energy.
“I actually really enjoyed him,” said Gaspard. “I thought it was going to be boring because speakers in the past have been really dull, but he was really energetic and funny and he really did get the crowd involved. It was great. This one really hit home because it made me realize you really do need to get your life in check when you’re in college because it does affect your future so it really helped me figure out what’s most important in my life and to start prioritizing”
Ciocchetti spoke about many relevant subjects such as aiming for authentic aspirations, the importance of moral integrity and friendships and organizing these in into life priorities. He challenged the audience to try doing four things in their life to be happier one being “hustle,” which means to try harder at any given task you do (being nicer to your parents, exercise,  club activities) Number two was to “fight”, which means find something on campus and fix it. The third was “listen” more to other people and number four was “laugh: at yourself.”
He finds a balance to speak about this with the audience by drawing from his own personal experiences in life and he tells all, even the embarrassing parts. He spoke about the value of practice and self-improvement and criticized ideals that are solely materialistically motivated.
“If I could just impart this message onto one person that you should be authentic, if you chase relationships, contentment and character, and if you could chase those things I think you’d be happier,” said Ciocchetti.
Many students realized the way they were living their lives did not follow their priorities, and they vowed to make changes as a result. One of those students being Nibha Manandhar who said, “I think for me it was definitely the part where he talked about fixing your priorities. I will definitely call my family more now.”
This event was hosted in cooperation of University Housing, Greek Life and The Office for Student Engagement. Ciocchetti was pleased with Southeastern’s hospitality and enthusiasm and wishes to speak here again, but for a larger audience. You can contact Ciocchetti and find more of his work on facebook.com/ProfC.