Casey J. Cornelius

Founder and President of ForCollegeForLife, Casey J. Cornelius has been a leading national voice on the topics of healthy masculinity and personal development for more than a decade. He travels the country, both physically and virtually, to work with campuses and organizations who aim toward the extraordinary.

Casey is not interested in average!

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio Casey is a first-generation college graduate holding a Bachelor’s and two Master’s degrees despite once being advised “college isn’t for everyone.” A proud fraternity man and inductee of his chapter’s Hall of Fame, Casey is the creator of The Cornelius Scholarship for First-Generation Students and was named a University of Toledo Distinguished Alumni in 2023.

He has been recognized with national and international awards for educational content development and delivery and as a “Spokes-Mo” (their word, not his) for his work with the Movember Foundation.

Fun fact: Casey is also a person of great contradiction. A lifelong fan of summer and long walks on the beach, he now resides with his wife, daughter, and parents in Michigan.

His proudest titles are father, husband, and son.

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"I appreciated the attention taken to listening to what was needed in our program and making that come to fruition - it was also done VERY quickly. During the program, I also appreciated the time Casey spent with the students and how he brought out the conversation in them. The feedback from the students thus far is they enjoyed the program very much and took some skills with them they plan to implement!"

"Everything about my experience with Casey was impressive--he was so prompt, courteous, and energizing. When it came to his presentations, Casey adapted to fit the needs of our organization. He worked to ensure he was up to date on the language our fraternity uses, which was an extra special touch. He delivered a program about positive masculinity in a way our members have never seen before and they still, a month later, talk about how impactful Casey was. He is an incredibly empathetic and energizing speaker and I cannot recommend him highly enough!"

"Working with Casey was a great experience overall. He was in constant communication and did a great job with helping us visualize how the experience would go. The presentations themselves were superb and from the exceptional visual aid, to the passion and excitement Casey had while presented, the topics addressed were done so in an engaging way that I could not have been more happy with."

"Casey was incredibly intentional in assessing the needs of our community through conversations leading up to the engagement. Even during the session, Casey and I would touch base and if I identified an area that the conversation could go in to be extra beneficial, Casey was able to seamlessly pivot to make that point. Casey was able to draw students out of their comfort zone and got them to engage in ways that they clearly did not come into the space prepared to do. Casey addressed our students with CARE, and I've already received emails from attendees asking to meet with me to discuss ways to get their chapter to care more!"

"Casey connected so well with our students and met all of our needs. He spent plenty of time working with us in advance of our program to make sure we would achieve our goals. Casey's suggestions were exactly what we needed, and he knocked it out of the park!"

PROGRAMS

Be The Man: A Movement for Healthy Masculinity

Keynote | Workshop | Retreat

America is worried about young men. They point to issues of poor conduct, declining academic success, and a lack of positive male role models and use words like problematic, dangerous, and toxic to describe behavior.

After seeing campuses and organizations grapple with persistent concerns and daily headlines, Casey decided to act. The problem has been identified; now is time for a movement toward a solution!

For years, Casey J. Cornelius is recognized as the leading voice on the topic of healthy masculinity for college men. His signature program, Be The Man, works to engage audiences in a meaningful dialogue about these issues and proposes a path toward a healthier form of manhood which solves so many of society’s challenges.

The program (keynote, workshop, or retreat) addresses four main topics:

Current issues (where we are)
Socialization of masculinity (how we got here)
Performance of masculinity (how we act/interact)
The “Be The Man” Challenge (where we can go)

Campuses and organizations across the nation have worked with Casey to create environments and experiences to better engage men and allow them to live fuller, happier, and healthier lives. Be The Man is the beginning of a discussion and Casey is ready to lead it.

Audience members will…

Investigate current issues facing college men
Identify how their relationships with others and themselves are impacted by the stigma of the “bad man”
Consider how their daily choices influence other’s perceptions
Develop strategies to positively challenge other men to be better

Ideal Audiences

Men’s Development Groups
Fraternities
Athletics
First-Year Experience

The Extraordinary Art of Caring (When No One Else Seems to Give a F*ck)

Keynote | Workshop | Retreat | Virtual

Does it seem like folks don’t really care anymore? Common decency is lacking, attendance is low, and even leadership positions are going unfilled. There must be a way of re-energizing our members and ourselves to have more passion and empathy.

There is.

And it starts with CARE.

Casey J. Cornelius has been a leading voice with topics moving the needle on college campuses and in large organizations for years. He now turns his attention to one of the most-pressing concerns of our day: enthusiasm fatigue. Casey wants to help individuals and groups recapture the love of membership, friendship, and service by blending a message of mindset and strategy. The art of caring, he says, is extraordinary and help cure many of the challenges facing campuses and communities.

In our complicated, challenging world, what we need is care. And we need it now!

Note: This program has an alternate title which reads The Extraordinary Act of Caring (When No One Else Seems To)

Audience members will…

Explore the core concepts of CARE (concern, awareness, respect, and empathy)
Consider the collective lived experiences leading to enthusiasm fatigue
Foster a renewed passion for the power of relationships
Develop a powerful mantra to sustain CARE beyond today

Ideal Audiences

Leadership
Fraternity and Sorority Life
Building Community
First-Year Experience
Professional Development
Community Colleges

Carrying The Fire

Keynote | Workshop

For years, our organizations have had extraordinary leaders who have seen us through difficult times. They have demonstrated how to overcome challenges, lead with vision, all while remaining consistent in their choices and priorities.

New members and leaders often feel uncertain in their abilities to meet the expectations of their membership opportunities. What differentiates those extraordinary leaders and members of the past with those emerging today?

Only their choices.

In this powerful message of purpose and mission, Casey shares the mindset and strategies central to short- and long-term success. Whether for a group of new members of newly elected officers, he shares a powerful metaphor, Carrying the Fire, to equip them to be ready for the road ahead.

Ideal Audiences

Fraternity and Sorority Life
New Member Programming
Greek Week
Recruitment Training

Audience members will…

Consider ways in which membership is meant to enhance the personal experience and how members must enhance the potential of organizations
Explore the most pressing issues facing members today
Develop strategies and mindset to lead to extraordinary results
Use the “Carrying the Fire” metaphor to connect to personal responsibility for group/organizational success

"Casey was so attentive to our needs from the start and kept up the energy in the room as high as possible. It was a great end to our Karnea (convention) educational content!"

"Casey did a session with our all (Triangle) staff team on choices and how to make extraordinary choices during this time of what I’ll call craziness in this world. It was a great session that had me stopping to reflect on how my daily choices (or lack of choices) were having an impact on my longer term goals. Casey is always engaging and doing this with him was no different.”

"Casey was an amazing professional who was there to connect with us every step of the way. He did everything in his power to make sure our members were able to have an impactful experience."

"It can be challenging to keep students' attention for 2.5 hours but the morning flew by. The message of CARE seemed to really resonate with students and was applicable across councils and chapters. I appreciated how Casey sought to make connections with students and make them feel heard and valued."

"I truly enjoy working with Casey. He genuinely cares about the students and is always willing to jump head first into anything."