Alum Hal Runkel Speaks to Current Students

Hal Runkel, LMFT, 2000 graduate of the Marriage and Family Therapy program at ACU, was on campus on Monday, February 4, as the featured speaker for the campus-wide Healthy Relationships Week. Hal was recently honored as one of ACU’s Distinguished Alumni. Soon after his graduation from the MFT program, Hal authored the New York Times Bestselling Book, ScreamFree Parenting: Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool. Hal next created the ScreamFree Institute, a nonprofit organization working to strengthen families and organizations around the world by providing them with the tools they need to build peace-filled homes and societies. Hal recently released a follow-up book, The Self-Centered Marriage: The Revolutionary ScreamFree Approach to Rebuilding Your “We” by Reclaiming Your “I.”

During his time on campus, Hal was able to share his experiences of being entrepreneurial and “creating a space to do the work you love” with current MFT students. Hal encouraged the students to broaden their minds about “getting a job,” focusing instead on their own personal mission to use the skills they’re gaining in the MFT program. He shared a realistic perspective about the hard work necessary to become successful in a world that’s filled with noise. Hal spoke about the sacrifices he made early on, such as providing free seminars on which he lost money and initially self-publishing ScreamFree Parenting. Hal ended his time with the students by saying, “Ninety-nine out of 100 ideas aren’t good. Find an idea you’re willing to die for. That’s living.”