Jordon Rooney will Present the 2017 Heffern Lecture at the University of Mount Union

ALLIANCE, Ohio – Jordon Rooney, Chief Executive Officer and founder of Never Fear Being Different, is set to present this year’s Heffern Lecture at the University of Mount Union. The lecture is titled “Never Fear Being Different” and will take place on Wednesday, November 29 at 7 p.m. in Brush Performance Hall in the Giese Center for the Performing Arts.                                      

Founder/CEO of Never Fear Being Different (NFBD) Rooney grew up in Union Township in New Castle, PA. He went on to graduate from Westminster College (PA) in 2012. While at Westminster, he was the captain of the football team. He also started the Community Pride Foundation. Then, after four successful 3 on 3 basketball tournaments, he raised enough money for a brand new outdoor basketball court outside of his high school.  After college, he started a Professional American Football Career with stops in Serbia, Brazil, and Poland where he accounted for 39 touchdowns and a Polish National Championship. 

Never Fear Being Different is a lecture as well as a movement urging people to make life choices that can be both supportive and motivational for their future goals and dreams. The NFBD movement is a way for people to step out of their comfort zone and achieve tasks they never thought possible. The motivation came from a frustration with society and a noticeable need to change the way kids are influenced.  The first steps were a kid’s camp where 150 third - sixth graders attended and a leadership program for 125 seventh - twelfth graders.  From there, things took off rather quickly. Rooney became the keynote speaker at fifty school assemblies in six states in a little over a year. NFBD blew up on social media with 100,000 likes on Facebook and 25,000 followers on Instagram. Just recently, Rooney and NFBD Vice President Dave Wright won a competition for entrance into a business incubator in Pittsburgh. NFBD's next step is creating a media platform for teenagers.

The Gordon Heffern Business Ethics Lecture was established by the late Gordon Heffern, a former Mount Union trustee, to encourage dialogue about the practical ways in which spirituality can transform the workplace. Mr. Heffern, a graduate of the University of Virginia, served as chairman of the board of Society Corporation before retiring in 1987. 

For more information, email Darnell Tucker at tuckerdd@mountunion.edu or call the Office of Marketing at (330) 823-6063. 

Link: http://www.mountunion.edu/heffern-lecture-rooney