Traveler, entrepreneur is Convocation speaker

Soon after graduating from college, Andy Stoll set off on what would become a four-year, 40 country adventure around the world. His experiences included working in a dress factory in Bangkok, helping perform cataract surgeries in Fiji, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro with street kids, and playing a role in a Bollywood movie in India.

Stoll, a native of the Midwest and a graduate of the University of Iowa, shares his bold undertaking as the keynote speaker at Central Wyoming College’s annual Convocation August 29, inspiring students to turn their biggest dreams into a reality.

Convocation is the traditional beginning-of-the-academic-year celebration. It begins at 10 a.m. in the Robert A. Peck Arts Center with the faculty march, followed by welcome addresses, the awarding of the Professor Emeritus distinction, the keynote address and a barbecue.

Stoll’s talk is designed to help students gain a new perspective on the choices they have both in and after college to build a meaningful and fulfilling life.

He is the co-founder of Seed Here Studio, a social startup working to grow the grassroots entrepreneurial and creative community in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, a region that is still recovering from massive flooding in 2008. His social entrepreneurial work focuses primarily on community building and making ideas happen.

In addition to his BBA in business management, BA in media production, Stoll holds a master’s degree in media cultures from the City University of Hong Kong. He has an impressive resume of film work and has been recognized regionally and nationally for his public service work.

The one-year excursion Stoll originally planned after his 2003 graduation turned into the four-year journey. He started with nine months based in Hong Kong promoting international peace and understanding as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, and continued with solo travel through Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and Australia.

Throughout his travels, Stoll has recorded his experiences through writing, photography, and video. He keeps a travelogue on a personal web site, http://noboundaries.org.

As an undergraduate at Iowa, he served as student body president and vice president, and was executive director of the Bijou Theater, the University of Iowa’s nonprofit, student-run cinema.