Largely known for his role as Culture Expert on Netflix’s “Queer Eye,” Karamo Brown will be on campus April 10 as this year’s senior speaker.

A television host, reality tv personality and activist, Brown has appeared in “Real World” (1992), “The Next: 15” (2016) and as a host in “Are You the One: Second Chances” (2017).

He has also worked as “an on-air host and producer for OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network), Huffington Post Live and a contributor on NBC’s Access Hollywood Live,” according to his website. 

Samantha DeMarse ’20, who is currently the Director of Culture, Media and Entertainment for Lafayette Activities Forum (LAF), a student programing organization that coordinates events on campus, said that as soon as she learned about Brown’s various experiences and knowledge back in September, she wanted him to be the senior speaker.

Typically, LAF does not talk about who the senior speaker will be until spring semester, DeMarse said, but she was eager to bring it up to the committee. 

“I have to imagine that by October [or] November it was already secured…We’ve been holding this in for a really long time, so I was dying for people to know,” she said. 

Brown became the first openly gay black man in reality television history during his appearance in “Real World,” according to his website. 

Director of the Traditions Committee on LAF Louise Olson ‘19  wrote in an email that “his ability to be vulnerable and share the struggles that he has had to overcome as the first [openly] gay black man on reality television and as a single father is extremely admirable.” 

She added that with his activism work in “6 in 10.org,” and “the work that he does to help individuals change the way they view themselves on Queer Eye, I believe Brown has a lot of wisdom that Lafayette students could benefit from hearing,” she wrote. 

“6 in 10.org” is an organization he co-founded that works to combat HIV stigma, provides mental health support and HIV education in the black LGBT community.

DeMarse said that Brown is a person who can reach many people at “different levels.”

“Everything about him just kind of touches in different people’s lives…He’s a person of color, he is part of the LGBTQ community, he is someone who is a psychologist that can really work with you,” she said. “Even if you just like reality TV, he can hitch that for you.”

Aside from sharing his personal experiences and inspiring students, Olson said she hopes that Brown makes students laugh. She wrote in an email that she looks “forward to hearing some of his inspirational stories and his suggestions on how to live an authentic and rewarding life.”