Former professional soccer player, cancer survivor, and winner of the reality television show Survivor Africa, Ethan Zohn will speak at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Utica on Thursday, March 30 at 12:30 p.m. in Kunsela Auditorium.

Zohn established himself as a champion for social change in Africa through his involvement with Grassroot Soccer, a nonprofit organization he co-founded whose mission is to mobilize the global soccer community in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Traveling the world as a motivational speaker, Zohn emphasizes character, leadership, resiliency, service and the values to nurture the immense potential that young people have to change their world.

The event, free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Office of Residential Life and Housing at SUNY Polytechnic Institute and Colleges Against Cancer for Relay for Life.

The following day, March 31, Zohn will be the guest speaker for the opening ceremonies of Relay for Life at SUNY Poly, beginning at 7 p.m. Spectators are welcome to join the celebration and walk in the survivor lap at the Wildcat Field House, with a Luminaria Ceremony (where candles are lit in honor and memory of locals who have battled cancer) will start at 10 p.m.