Call her Dr. Lauren Book.
Book, who has led Florida Senate Democrats since April 2021, is the latest recipient of an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Nova Southeastern University (NSU).
The degree is traditionally bestowed to keynote speakers who have distinguished themselves through significant humanitarian contributions to society, according to the National Institute of Health.
NSU President and CEO George L. Hanbury II gave Book — who founded and since 2003 has led Lauren's Kids, an Emmy Award-winning South Florida charity that helps survivors of childhood sexual abuse — before she delivered the keynote address.
The ceremony took place at the school's Don Taft University in Davie. Graduates were from the NSU Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice and College of Computing and Engineering.
Thousands attended the event, and thousands more watched online, according to Democratic consultant Claire VanSusteren.
Book later said she is "humbled" to receive the honors.
"Remember graduates, nothing is impossible!" she wrote on Twitter, referencing a motto her father, powerhouse lobbyist Ron Book, has had hanging in his office for many years.
In her speech, Book advised graduates to embrace the unexpected and live unintimidated by change, which she called "the only constant in this world."
"Despite our best-laid plans, life is not linear — which, I'll admit, can at times be difficult for a planner like myself," she said. "But remember, the endless possibilities are where the magic lies, in successes and setbacks alike."
Book discussed how pursued a degree in education because, as a survivor of physical, sexual and emotional abuse perpetrated by her family's live-in nanny, "school was (her) refuge" and she "wanted to protect children in ways that (she) was unable to be kept safe."
She detailed how in graduate school, alongside a developmental psychologists and other experts in prevention, she created what is now known as the Safer, Smarter Kids curriculum to help prevent child abuse, exploitation and digital dangers.
Early on, she said, it wasn't easy getting schools to adopt the program.
"I remember going back to my own elementary school to ask if I could teach these important lessons there, only to be told, 'We don't have that problem here.' We have this problem everywhere, but alright," she said. "That was hardly the only no I received. There were many."
But she persisted, and today the curriculum is taught in 43 U.S. states and internationally through a partnership with UNICEF and Crime Stoppers International.
Book's speech then turned to her successful 2016 Senate run, which she embarked on while pregnant, and her legislative accomplishments since, including the passage of bipartisan gun safety legislation following the Parkland massacre, measures to combat human trafficking, two Medicaid expansions for moms and babies, banning unsafe restraints for students with disabilities and expansions of mental health care benefits for first responders, among other things.
"As the Senate's Democratic Leader in a Republican majority chamber, we've had to get creative and keep our heads up against sometimes impossible odds, never giving up on the things that matter most," she said. "And you shouldn't either."
