Inspirational Speaker

Michael Page, the Durham County commissioner chairman and director of campus ministries at NCCU said it's important for students to hear from someone like Smith. "Students need to hear the good and the bad," Page said. They need to see both sides of life. They think that once they graduate from college, it's smooth sailing. I want them to understand that obstacles will come into their lives but they can overcome them." In addition to being a pastor, Smith is a church consultant and much sought-after motivational speaker. He has also taught seminars to inmates on death row at Central Prison in Raleigh, the Butner Federal Correctional Complex and Federal Maximum Security Prison in Leavenworth, Kansas. Smith said he is often approached after a seminar by people looking for reassurance. "I always get one or two who come up emotionally and in tears because they're going through something themselves," Smith said. "I hope I'm helping to change someone's life."