Liberty students hear from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, tech leaders at D.C. summit

Liberty University’s Office of Business Relations sponsored a trip for 100 students to Washington, D.C., for the AI, Energy & Emerging Technologies Summit at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Organized in partnership with Treasury, the event brought students and invited university guests together with senior government officials and leading technology experts to discuss the U.S. economy, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies.

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent delivered keynote remarks. Additional speakers included senior representatives from the Treasury Department, Commerce, Small Business Administration, and major companies like Nvidia, Amazon, Palantir, Oracle, Siemens, OpenAI, Perplexity AI, Robinhood, Plaid, Upwork, Digital Realty, and UpStart.

Bessent reminded students that “there’s never been a better time to build and to innovate in America,” and that the event would show students how leaders across the government and technology industries are working together to capitalize on inherent opportunities in artificial intelligence.

“As the next generation of American leaders and fellow lovers of liberty, this should excite and inspire all of you,” Bessent said. “AI is an abundance engine (that) will create more of everything and do so more quickly at a lower cost. AI will start an economic boom in productivity gains rarely before seen in our nation’s history.”

“You are the generation inheriting this technological frontier, and you have a unique opportunity and responsibility to shape how it is used,” he added. “AI will not take your job. A young person who knows how to use AI will.”

Monday’s summit was broken into four distinct panels, with 23 unique speakers and panel guests sharing how their industries impact economic growth and how they interact with the federal government to safeguard America’s global economic competitiveness and national security.

Panel speakers emphasized that emerging technologies, advancements in AI, and America’s pursuit of energy dominance will propel the American worker forward, creating high-paying jobs across all sectors of the economy — from blue-collar jobs like construction, plumbing, and HVAC — to roles in software engineering, sales, and marketing.

The event was one of the many opportunities the Office of Business Relations provides each year for students to hear from national leaders and business executives from some of the world’s leading technology companies. The sixth annual CEO Summit, slated for Oct. 7-9 on campus, will gather hundreds of leading CEOs, CFOs, and executives from Fortune 500 companies to meet with students across the university, hire young talent, and network with fellow domestic and international business leaders.

“It’s amazing and such a blessing that we have these opportunities,” said senior Robin Curry, who is pursuing a BFA in Film Production & Creative Development. “I think access to such events and incredible speakers elevates the college experience because where else can we experience this without paying an exorbitant amount of money? That’s partially why (I attended). It’s my last semester, and I want to take advantage of every last event before I graduate. These events are not only educational but are great networking opportunities to meet with other students as well as the speakers.”

Sophomore accounting and history student Ethan Hope-Ogden said attending the summit will help him with a research project in one of his accounting classes.

“I am very grateful to have gone on this trip,” he said. “It’s important to know what is going on in the big corporations and how their enterprises will affect my small hometown of Amherst, Va. … I appreciated Secretary Bessent coming out to encourage us as students. As for the panels, my biggest takeaway was the enormity of how much money is going into AI data center production. It is honestly quite interesting.”

Dr. Dave Brat, senior vice president of business relations, said the feedback he received from speakers and the Treasury Department showed the event was a rewarding experience for all involved: “Several of the industry leaders told me that they’ve never seen such a great joint business tech government event, and they were very happy to support Liberty University.”