“A Millimeter—That’s How Close I Came to Dying” : Suzanne Spencer ‘14 at DePauw University on Adversity and Resilience
Extra Credit Article: Event Review - Suzanne Spencer Talk, 3/31/26
BY JUSTINE VANDENBERG
On the evening of March 31, an enthusiastic crowd gathered in Watson Forum of the Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media in anticipation of an interactive talk led by McWethy Speaker and DePauw Alumna Suzanne Spencer ‘14. The event, organized by WGRE, was widely attended by Media Fellows and journalism students, in addition to affiliated faculty members and friends of the English and Media Studies departments. Spencer delivered a dynamic talk to the audience about how to move forward when the script of your life changes, using her own personal crisis with unexpected adversity as a point of inspiration to encourage others to embrace resilient frameworks in their life challenges.
Spencer graduated from DePauw in 2014 with a degree in English and a minor in Media Studies. As an ambitious member of the Media Fellows Program, Spencer quickly built a solid foundation for what would become a successful career in multimedia journalism following her graduation from DePauw. Passionate about using her words to make a difference in people’s lives, Spencer was driven by her purpose to discover and share the stories that would make an impact on people’s lives.
However, the script of Spencer’s life changed dramatically in 2021. It started with something seemingly innocuous—a dull, lingering headache behind the base of her head that she found annoying. After going out of her way to be proactive about her health, Spencer visited her doctors for a checkup just to cover her bases. Shortly afterwards, Spencer received a call with devastating news: She had been growing a brain tumor for years with absolutely no idea.
It was that single moment when Spencer’s life irrevocably changed. “There's a version of me that no longer exists,” Spencer stated. “I didn’t know that I lived the last day of that version of me when I lived it.”
Paralyzed by pain, Suzanne had to stop working, ceasing her career in journalism and going on short-term disability. She felt that there was no playbook for what she was experiencing or what to do because no one else had gone through the precise combination of things she was facing. She woke up facing pain every day. Also pregnant at the time, Suzanne described, “I was facing death while I was bringing life into the world.”
Tragedy is something that most people would rather turn away from. It is a humbling reminder of our mortality and fragility, and it teaches us that our entire life trajectory can change in a shattering instant. However, Suzanne’s experiences taught her that tragedy can also bring out the best in the human spirit.
“It wasn’t easy to stare down those dark days and ask yourself how you got through it,” Suzanne said solemnly. But as she reflects on her resilient battle and prevailing recovery, Suzanne developed a framework to encapsulate the essence of what she learned and what helped her get through something that otherwise seemed impossible.
Suzanne calls it your “MIC.” M is for Mindset. She was adamant that mindset is not about being positive, but rather it represents the decisions that no one else can see but that you make. Mindset is simple, but not easy. I stands for Inner Voice, reflecting the story you tell yourself. And lastly, C reflects Community. Suzanne described that with community, you should create it and grow it, and if you want to have a good team, then also be a good teammate.
As Suzanne reflects on her own story, she came to the realization that intuition is always on point. “You know when something isn’t right,” she stated. Suzanne underscored the importance of health as something we take for granted until it falters, encouraging students to advocate for themselves and be proactive. If Suzanne hadn’t persisted and taken the initiative to check on her own health for herself, she wouldn’t have known anything until it was too late.
Suzanne’s determination, courage, and resilience continue to shine through today. She has been speaking on stages for a year now, channeling her experiences with pain, shock, and fear into a new script to share with others about how they can overcome trauma and adversity in their own lives. When meeting someone new, Suzanne encouraged us to think of the age-old question not as “What do you do?” but rather “What’s the story behind where you are today?”