At Amie Mckibban’s “Last Lecture” presentation, students arriving less than 10 minutes early found themselves standing in the back, sprawled out along the aisles or sitting on the floor in Kleymeyer Hall on Feb. 19.

USI’s “Last Lecture” series came from Student Development and poses the question: “If this was your last time to address a group of students, what would you say?”

The student body selected Amie Mckibban, an assistant professor of psychology who has been at USI for four and a half years, as the first speaker in the new series.

A mixture of emotions flowed through the audience while McKibban spoke on a wide range of topics.

Whether it was experiences shared with her sister leading McKibban to become an LGBT activist, the struggles of growing from a “student who did not like school” into becoming a vibrant professor or life as a Midwestern woman and triplet from Kansas, McKibban enthralled her listeners with the variety of stories.

“Singular actions will not change the world, but I promise you, they will make a difference in someone’s world,” she said.

In the part of her lecture that captured the audience’s attention the most, McKibban describes the moment when her sister confided in her that she is gay, the tears they shared as her sister struggled with hateful messages written on her dorm door and the time two siblings were confronted by anti-gay protestors at a concert.

McKibban’s experiences have not only led her to become a professor, but a vocal defender for the LGBT community and everyone who struggles against discrimination, as well.

“Silence is interpreted as acceptance, and I am no longer silent,” she said.

Instead of using her lessons to ace standardized tests, McKibban said she would rather see her students go change the world.

Alex Bailey, a senior in one of McKibban’s Human Sexuality classes, lauded her professor’s performance.

“I thought it was great. Her stories were very relatable,” Bailey said. “I really liked the story she shared about her teaching, her journey to get to that point because she had so many trials along the way. It was really inspiring.”

Like much of the audience, Bailey said she plans to attend the next “Last Lecture.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” she said. “I think people should start coming to them because you can take a lot away from them, I think. I really like the idea and hope that it continues.”

Student Development will attempt to host another last lecture every year.