Convo Recap: Students hear from Christina Meredith and Ron Desantis

Christina Meredith, author of “Cinder Girl” and founder of the Christina Meredith Foundation, spoke on how she overcame struggles from childhood by the grace of God on Wednesday. 

Meredith grew up with eight siblings, where she experienced poverty and abuse. 

At the age of 16, she was put into foster care with her brothers and sisters after going from home to home for many years.

Looking back, Meredith said she sees God’s faithfulness through all the trials she endured.

“He knew that he was going to use my story to encourage other people, that no matter what you go through, you can overcome, and you can achieve great things,” Meredith said. 

At 18, after being in a stable foster home and graduating high school, Meredith was rejected from an ROTC scholarship and lived homeless in her car. 

While homeless, she began having God-given dreams about her future. It was because of these dreams that she began to write “Cinder Girl.”

It took many years to get where she is today, but Meredith never gave up hope. She trusted God’s plan for her life even when times were difficult. 

“It’s in the waiting where you can cleave to your faith and hope, knowing that God is going to do exactly what he said he was going to do,” Meredith said. 

Meredith is now a wife, mother, national speaker and signals intelligence officer in the Army. Her book is in the process of being made into a film. 

Liberty student Olivia Smith found Meredith’s message to be inspirational.

“I liked how vulnerable and authentic she was,” Smith said. “God will always provide and bring you through your darkest days.”

On Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke on Florida’s successes and what it means to choose truth. 

DeSantis was elected as the governor of Florida in 2018 and again in 2022. 

Throughout both terms, he has protected the freedom of Floridians and stayed true to his values as a Christ follower. 

“When freedom and our very own way of life and so many other jurisdictions throughout our land withered on the vine, Florida held the line,” DeSantis said. 

Florida is now an economic leader in the nation because DeSantis stayed firm in his position as a leader and fought for what he believed. He did not let disagreeing opinions influence his decisions. 

“Leadership is really about having the courage to make difficult decisions in the teeth of opposition and in the teeth of criticism,” DeSantis said. “A leader must have the confidence to stand alone if the moment calls for it.”

Despite the criticism from the media during the pandemic, DeSantis did what he believed was best for the people of Florida. 

DeSantis concluded his speech by stressing that Florida has rejected the “woke” ideology seen throughout other parts of America. 

“We have embraced freedom,” DeSantis said. “We have maintained law and order. We have protected the rights of parents. We have elevated the importance of family and promoted a culture of life. We have respected our taxpayers, and we have rejected woke ideology.”

Because Florida has followed this agenda, more people than ever are moving to Florida. 

Freshman Makenna Baker found DeSantis’s message to be compelling.

“I enjoyed Convo, and I felt like it was very interesting to hear (the governor’s) perspective on the different political issues that our country is going through,” Baker said. “It reminded me that there is hope for our country, and there are still people who are fighting for freedom.”

Giroux is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion