Coming back to deliver a speech for an ILA convocation is Chad Pregracke. Many of this year’s sophomores probably remember Chad as being one of the most influential ILA speakers of last year. Chad’s speech was arguably one of the best received convocations of last year.

For those students who aren’t familiar with Pregracke, this short introduction should give some insight. Pregracke began his environmental endeavors when he decided to clean up the Mississippi River as a teenager. The river just so happened to be right in his back yard which gave Pregracke even more reason to do something about cleaning it up. Since his initial clean-up of the Mississippi River, Pregracke has turned his one-time hobby into an organization called Living Lands & Waters. While Pregracke began his clean-ups with just a small canoe, he now travels around with a team of nine on a large barge that is equipped with classrooms and living quarters. Undoubtedly, the organization has greatly expanded in just the past 10 years.

Monmouth College associate professor of Enlgish Mark Willhardt explained the ILA faculty’s decision to bring Pregracke back for a second year.

Willhardt stated two reasons: one being that, “We (the ILA faculty) needed to concentrate upon fewer convocations, while making sure that the ones we did have were both engaging and vital for any discussion of exemplary lives.” Adding to that, he shared his belief that, “Pregracke’s convocation was one of the most dynamic, and well-received, of any we had.” Willhardt also mentioned the way in which Pregracke’s message and life coincided well with the convocation’s topic of civic engagement. “Pregracke’s larger sense of civic duty, and of ecological stewardship, drives him and his organization.” Also adding that,  “Having him talk about his own life and his organization’s development just seemed a natural fit both with ILA’s theme and with a convocation dedicated to civic engagement.”

When asked about last year’s convocation, sophomore Owen Robinson described the convocation as “one of the only convocations last year that held my attention, while at the same time got me to take interest into what he was talking about.”

The faculty hopes many students will share the same feelings when Pregracke gives his convocation on Tuesday, Oct. 9.

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