KY College President Surprises Students With Amazing Hidden Talent

March of this year marked President Madison Silvert's first anniversary at the helm of the Brescia University community. When you read his bio on their website, you learn that he is the sixth president and the first layperson to serve in the position. For 100 years, either an Ursuline sister or Father Larry Hostetter has held the post.

You also learn all about President Silvert's educational and professional accomplishments. (TLDR: he really is kinda a big deal!) However, he would NEVER tell you that. I know this because I've known Madison my entire life. Yes, the bow tie has been his signature look for as long as I can remember, even when he was in high school!

Anyway, he was also my boss when I worked for BryantCorp. I know lots of fun facts about President Silvert that you WON'T find in that bio on the Brescia website. He has a sweet collection of Star Trek Federation Starfleet vessels in his office. No one on Earth loves a McDonald's McRib as much as he does. AND he plays a MEAN banjo. (Rubbing Alcoholics fan for life!)

I used to call him the Kermit of our crew, not just because of the banjo skills, but because Madison leads with the same heart as that sweet frog, and he values the unique qualities that make a person special. He's creative, forward-thinking, and so thoughtful. This year, for his big 5-0 birthday, he launched a fundraising campaign for the university. Just gonna leave this right here...

President Silvert also knows that to work hard, sometimes you gotta play too! So, for Finals week, he did his part to help reduce students' stress as they mentally prepared for their tests. He set up a table in the Brescia Quad with a sign that said: "Ask me anything or request a song."

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"The challenge was songs I had never heard AND never played," Madison told me. I asked him what some of them were, because he is kind of an encyclopedia of good music. Of course, being the data dork he is (I say this with love), you can now find this playlist on Spotify.

"'Made in Japan' is a great example. Never heard it. Great song. Glad a student introduced me to that one."  I know he looks serious and laser-focused in the photo, but I have no doubt that President Silvert was having as much fun with this little pop-up acoustic set as the students. He definitely plans to do it again in the future. I just hope I can get a heads-up next time (wink wink) so I can submit a request.

He joined us on the morning show to chat about his fun day in the quad and why it's important to keep trying to learn new things! Listen here: