Forrest Frank performs at Liberty’s Block Party on Aug. 24. (Photo by Jessie Jordan)

Forrest Frank

Christian Music Artist

It was a “Good Day” — actually a couple good days — when singer/songwriter Forrest Frank made his first trip to campus in August. Just a month before winning his first GMA Dove Awards for New Artist of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year (for “Good Day”), Frank spoke at Convocation on Aug. 23 and helped Liberty kick off a new school year by performing some of his hit songs from his Child of God tour at Block Party. In Convocation, Frank, who grew up in a Christian family, told his story of living a life of secrecy and searching for fulfillment until his sophomore year of college when he surrendered his life to Christ. “In that moment, I was full, I was complete, I had found my home in Jesus,” he said. “All the insecurity left me, the depression left me, because I knew my identity. I’m a child of God.” Two years ago, after leaving pop music, he turned to releasing Christian worship music that he said God led him to write.

Forrest Frank spoke with Vice President of Spiritual Development Josh Rutledge at Convocation on Aug. 23. (Photo by KJ Jugar)

Cole Hocker

Olympic Gold Medalist

When Cole Hocker crossed the finish line of the men’s 1500-meter at the 2024 Paris Olympics to take the gold, he said it was evidence of what happens when he gives his career and God 100 percent. Hocker was welcomed to the Convocation stage on Sept. 20 to cheers of “U-S-A” before recounting the upset as it was shown on the videoboard. “I said it in my post-race interview that I felt like God carried me through the line. I feel like, in watching (the race), it’s so obvious because that doesn’t happen very often that you get to reset and recharge at that pace. That was not just me on the home stretch.” He encouraged students to “give their all” toward achieving what God has for them. “For (every) Olympian, the paths are all different, but everyone is giving their sport 100 percent. I would encourage everyone to give something their 100 percent. … You don’t know what doors that will open up and what opportunities that will lead to.” Hocker set an Olympic record of 3:27.65 in Paris, becoming the fourth American in Olympic history to win gold in the 1500.

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Vivek Ramaswamy

Entrepreneur, Author

Author and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at Convocation on Oct. 2 (Photo by Matt Reynolds)

At 37 years old, Vivek Ramaswamy became the youngest Republican to ever run for the nation’s highest office. He suspended his campaign last January, but with a month to go before the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election, Ramaswamy visited Liberty on Oct. 2 to inspire students to embrace America’s history, restore curiosity and self-confidence, and adopt the patriotic vision of our nation’s Founding Fathers. He received multiple ovations as he urged students to revive America’s founding principles and emphasized speaking the truth with conviction and respect, fighting for conservative issues like the gender binary, securing national borders, protecting the nuclear family, strengthening capitalism to lift others from poverty, and embracing the U.S. Constitution as the strongest and greatest supporter of freedom. “We fight for the truth. We stand up for the truth. That is what won us the American Revolution. That is what reunited us after the Civil War. That is what won us two world wars and the Cold War. That is what still gives hope to the free world. And if we can revive that dream over group identity, victimhood, and grievance, then nobody in the world … is going to defeat us. That is what American exceptionalism is all about, and that is what we will revive to save this great nation.”

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William Byron

NASCAR Driver

NASCAR Driver William Byron (Photo by Matt Reynolds)

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, is still on the fast track to success. When he visited campus for the Oct. 9 Convocation, he was the NASCAR Cup Series overall points leader with three checkered flags under his belt in 2024, including the Daytona 500. In a sit-down interview with Chancellor Jonathan Falwell, Byron talked about his unconventional route into professional racing, which started with iRacing simulators as a teen. When asked how students can be Champions for Christ wherever God may lead them, he said, “It’s just (about) not forgetting your purpose — why do you wake up in the morning? What motivates you to do what you do? How does your faith incorporate into that and what do you use from your faith to motivate you? I knew (racing) was my calling. I knew it was what I wanted to do, and then there were a lot of things that lined up for me to do it. Nothing else in my life has had that effect, and I owe a lot of that to God and His purpose for me.” Byron grew up in a Presbyterian church but said his faith “really took off” when he started racing. “I got out on my own and it was kind of my faith journey. God was always guiding my decisions, and whether I was winning or losing races, I always had the grace of God to be able to go through experiences and learn from it.” At the end of Convocation, Byron took a seat alongside members of Liberty leadership for an animated Mario Kart video game race.

The Liberty Journal congratulates William for a third-place finish at the NASCAR Cup Series Championship and ending the season third in points!

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