Former first lady Laura Bush spoke to a crowd at Hanner Fieldhouse tonight at 7 p.m. on what it means to be a leader.

The Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management and Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement hosted the event as part of the Student Organization and Leadership Development (SOLD) Workshop Series.

“One of the things that George (Bush) says about leadership is he thinks that it is easier to be a leader that people will follow if you have specific principles that you develop in your life and you can develop in a lot of ways through your faith or your family, through the culture of your state and the place you live, and if you think in your mind, really determine what your principles are and act on those principles as a leader,” Laura Bush, Former first lady, said.

Bush experienced many trials during her time at the White House but learned valuable lessons that helped shaped her as a leader because of them.

“I learned a lot really, I learned really how very, very fortunate we are in our country, that we’ve all inherited all the laws that make us both be able to have a vibrant economy, the laws of business, contract laws, the laws of private property, things you wouldn’t even think of that we totally take for granted, that many other countries don’t have,” Bush said.

“But I also think of the civil institution that we also inherited that support the democracy that we have, that give us a chance to have the many, many advantages we have,” Bush said.

The road after college can be difficult and Bush advised the audience to look at their life and make some goals, to look at their schedule and find out what was really important and to not forget to include leisure time and time for friends.