Students Meet Dr. Lerone Martin, Director of the MLK Jr. Institute at Stanford

Today the student body, faculty and staff enjoyed a fireside chat with none other than Dr. Lerone Martin, Professor at Stanford University and Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. The conversation was led and moderated by students Aria '27 and Vivienne '27 who did a fantastic job asking Dr. Martin a series of interesting questions.

Students were captivated by Dr. Martin's authentic and heartfelt points of view as both a professor and a father of three boys. When asked about the main thing he wants his sons to learn, Dr. Martin shared that he wants them to develop a strong sense of resiliency to work through challenges in life.

When discussing his recent publication "How the FBI Aided and Abetted the Rise of White Christian Nationalism," Dr. Martin shared that it important to constantly check oneself and to not assume you are right because you are a person of faith. It is important to continuously self-reflect and ask yourself if you are pursuing something for the good of humanity.

In addition, Dr. Martin was asked by Head of School Meredith Essalat what MLK Jr. may have thought about the new generation of artificial intelligence that is surging in our world today. Dr Martin suggested that MLK Jr. would have encouraged conversations about how can we use technology for the betterment of humanity. 

At the end of the discussion, a senior student asked what advice that Dr. Martin could give to seniors who are about to venture off to college. Dr. Martin encouraged students to stay open — even if they have an idea of what career they'd like to pursue, he suggested to stay open to new possibilities or to even take a class that scares them — because they may be surprised by what interests them and what they may learn about themselves. He also suggested to be resilient. If one doesn't succeed right away at the path they choose or, for example, if a student earns a lower grade than they achieved in high school, he suggested to not let that prevent them from accomplishing what they have set out to do.

Thank you, Dr. Lerone Martin for sharing your insights with our students and inspiring them to move forward on their academic journeys with resiliency, self-reflection and compassion.