The “Word to the Wildcats” leadership series is designed to provide space for notable CWU Alumni and CWU Educators to share stories of growth, resilience and leadership with the current Wildcat student body. Each guest speaker will share a unique moment in their life that has and taught them a major life leadership lesson. Through the 5-week series, “Word to the Wildcats” hopes to share relatable life lessons that current CWU students and community members can apply to their personal story.
Episode 1 features Quincy Jones, an amazing comedian with an inspiring story. Quincy attended Central Washington University from 2008 to 2010 where he began his first stand up comedy show in Yakima, WA. During his east coast tour in July 2015, Quincy was diagnosed with Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer. After being told by the doctors that Quincy had less than a year to live, he decided that his goal was to film a comedy special. With a great support system by his family, friends, and the Los Angeles comedy community, his friends decided to make a kickstart to raise money to fulfill Quincy’s wish of filming a comedy special. Quincy’s story caught the attention of Ellen Degeneres and her producers and asked to have Quincy on the show. Ellen assisted Quincy’s wish and connected him with an HBO special that aired in 2016. Since his HBO special, Quincy continues to pursue his passion in standup comedy and fight cancer with a positive outlook on life.
