On Monday, Feb. 29, Lee University hosted Candy Carson, wife of presidential candidate Ben Carson, for a talk about “family, life, politics, and other small topics.”

“We worked for months with the Carson campaign to make this happen because we think Mrs. Carson is a person our students can admire,” said Dr. Jerome Hammond, Vice President for University Relations. “On the eve of Super Tuesday in one of the most interesting presidential campaigns in 50 years, we were pleased to host the spouse of a major candidate, especially someone like Candy Carson.”

Her Lee visit began with a campus tour, focusing on the south-end development with the new Communications Building and the emerging Nursing Building. Following the tour Mrs. Carson joined campus and community leaders for a VIP brunch. During the closed-door session she offered insights into the challenges of life on the campaign trail, and her husband’s decision to run for president. “For Ben it is a calling,” she explained. “Neither one of us wanted to give up our private life for something like this, but we reached the conclusion that this is God’s will.”

After the brunch Mrs. Carson moved to an overfilled Walker Lecture Hall where she was greeted by the enthusiastic crowd eager to ask questions and express support. When asked how she felt knowing that the next day their campaign hung in the balance, she said, “I feel a little nervous, but deep inside Ben and I feel that it’s in the Lord’s hands. He called us to this.” Many in the crowd used the time to express admiration for the Carsons’ example of Christ-centered leadership. The one-hour session ended with a standing ovation and a long line of admirers eager to snap pictures with Mrs. Carson.

“One indicator of a significant university is its ability to bring people of influence to campus,” explained Hammond. “Mrs. Carson is such a person, and we are pleased that she was with us during this important election.”

According to Mrs. Carson’s recent book, “A Doctor in the House,” she and Ben first met at Yale University where she triple majored in music, psychology and pre-med. She holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and has coauthored four books with Dr. Carson. Her latest book contains the colorful details of the unlikely journey through tragedy and triumph with Dr. Carson. “The calling of a neurosurgeon isn’t easy to live out,” she writes in her memoir. “The life of a neurosurgeon’s wife isn’t much easier. But it’s been worth it all.”