To succeed in life, students should not allow fear to hold them back and should accept opportunities for leadership when presented, the NE Campus president said Nov. 8.

As its first male keynote speaker in 23 years, Larry Darlage addressed the Women in New Roles’ Leadership Forum on NE Campus.

In his speech Forks in the Road to Success, Darlage highlighted what he referred to as keys to success and used examples from his experiences, turning points in his life where he was presented with an opportunity and took it.

“When life gives you lemons, make lemon pie. You know a lot of people say lemonade, but I like lemon pie,” he said with a chuckle.

Darlage’s speech included eight bullet points, titled “Keys to Success,” that were printed onto wallet-sized cards and passed out to the audience beforehand. With his keys, he encouraged students to seek positive reinforcement, take advantage of opportunities to gain leadership and keep trying to achieve their goals.

“My dad was a farmer and really hated farming, so he said, ‘You’re going to go to college,’” he said.

With a doctorate in chemistry, Darlage said he still likes to teach a class every once in a while.

The speech ended with a recitation of a poem by Robert Frost, one of Darlage’s favorite poets. Darlage read “The Road Not Taken.”

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference,” Frost wrote.

Triesha Light, South WINR coordinator, asked what advice Darlage could give students without strong support from friends or family.

“Find a support system somewhere,” he said, “Surround yourself with people who are optimistic.”