Dr. Jeffrey O’Brien
Daemen University held its annual HOPE (How Our Purpose Evolves) Summit on Saturday, April 11, drawing the Daemen community together to put purpose and possibility into action to create hope in meaningful ways.
Seventy-four students attended the event, including students in RA leadership roles, orientation leaders, tour guides, and student athletes representing all three colleges.
Tiffany Hamilton and Deborah Periannan
Senior psychology student and Diversity Ambassador Deborah Periannan introduced the keynote speaker, Dr. Jeffrey O’Brien, CEO of the Institute for Sport and Social Justice.
O’Brien enlightened attendees by reminding them, “Hope is not something you feel, it’s something you practice, and it requires a growth mindset.” When addressing challenges in one’s life, he added, “Hard is not the enemy—it’s the pathway, and everything you want in life is on the other side of hard.”
Faculty and students attended interactive sessions following the keynote address.
“Today, many of our sessions are intentionally interactive because HOPE does not grow in isolation. It is strengthened in community—in dialogue, in shared learning, in the willingness to listen, reflect, and stretch,” said Tiffany Hamilton, vice president of Institutional Equity & Belonging. “Hope invites us to imagine beyond current conditions—and then challenges us to act in ways that bring that vision closer to reality.”