National Geographic Explorer to headline Fredonia’s Bicentennial Convocation
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National Geographic Explorer Chris Bashinelli has traveled to more than 40 countries to learn what gives people a sense of happiness, purpose, and belonging. When he comes to SUNY Fredonia on Sept. 18, he will ask his audience to consider what those lessons mean in their own lives and communities.
Bashinelli will deliver the keynote address at Fredonia's Bicentennial Convocation on Friday at 2 p.m. in King Concert Hall in Rockefeller Arts Center. The event is free and open to the public.
The convocation is part of Fredonia's yearlong celebration of 200 years of higher education in the community. Its theme, "Celebrating Two Centuries of Impact," recognizes the generations of students, educators, alumni and community members who have shaped higher education in Fredonia since Fredonia Academy opened in 1826.
For Bashinelli, the occasion also carries a personal connection. A SUNY study abroad experience in Tanzania helped set him on the path that would define his career and his larger purpose.
"SUNY changed my life," Bashinelli said. "Were it not for my experience with SUNY, I know almost for certain that I would not be a National Geographic Explorer, I would not have had the good fortune to travel the world learning from people from all walks of life, and I would not have met my mentor, Dr. Jane Goodall. Thank you, SUNY, for changing my life."
Known as "Bash," Bashinelli is a television host, filmmaker and internationally recognized speaker on human connection. His work explores how people with different experiences and perspectives can better understand one another.
Born in Brooklyn to Lebanese and Italian American parents, Bashinelli traces some of his curiosity about other cultures to the neighborhood where he grew up. He has described his childhood stoop as a gathering place for friends representing more than 13 nationalities.
Bashinelli began his career as an actor and appeared on HBO's "The Sopranos." He later created "Bridge the Gap," a documentary series featured on PBS and the National Geographic Channel.
His travels have taken him from living with nomadic herders in Mongolia to harvesting tea in China and entering a sumo wrestling ring in Japan. He has also learned from Ugandan mystics, Lakota suicide-prevention activists, prison populations and military veterans.
Those adventures give Bashinelli's presentations their energy, but they are not the ultimate point. "The adventure, the National Geographic, living with nomads, farming in China, sumo wrestling is fun and it's engaging, but it's not the bottom line," Bashinelli said. "The bottom line is we want to walk out of the keynote transformed."
At Fredonia, Bashinelli will draw on those experiences to explore the value of each person's perspective. Different paths, he said, give everyone something distinct to contribute.
"The deepest gift that we have to offer, the deepest difference that we have to offer, is our unique perspective," he said.
Recognizing that value begins with being fully present. Bashinelli asks audiences to approach each conversation as though it may be their only interaction with that person. "Wouldn't we be fully present?" he said. "Wouldn't we be a little more accepting of their faults? Wouldn't they, in turn, feel a little more safe with us to be their most authentic selves?"
That connection is especially important during periods of change. Bringing people together depends not only on what a leader says or does, Bashinelli said, but on whether they recognize humanity in others. "The number one way to gain trust is to really care," he said. "And you can only care when you actually recognize the humanity in another person."
Bashinelli's interest in the human condition became personal after his father died from cancer when Bashinelli was 20. He has studied mindfulness and meditation for more than two decades and incorporated those practices into his work.
He also draws inspiration from Goodall, the renowned ethologist and conservationist he considers a mentor. One lesson he learned from her is that a meaningful life is not measured by money, fame or influence. "What matters at the end of our life is if we have made a difference in someone else's life, if we're happy, and if we became the person that we were meant to be," he said.
That message will help the Bicentennial Convocation connect Fredonia's history with the work ahead. The celebration recognizes two centuries of institutional change while focusing on the lives shaped through higher education and their impact on others.
The Bicentennial Convocation is supported by the Maytum Lecture Endowment and the Williams Visiting Professorship Endowment, both held by the Fredonia College Foundation.
Admission is free, but advance registration is requested. Registration and additional information are available at 200.fredonia.edu.