25 Feb The Importance of Storytelling and Embracing the Present with Daveed Diggs 

California native and award-winning rapper, actor, writer and producer Daveed Diggs stopped by Cal State Fullerton on Thursday, Feb. 20. Diggs’ appearance marks the 14 speaker in the Associated Students Inc.’s speaker series, Beyond the Conversation.  

Having graduated from Brown University in 2004, Diggs’ career began as a substitute teacher in schools near his hometown of Oakland, Calif., creating curriculum that included spoken word poetry as part of the lessons. His unique skillset and creative group of friends helped launch Diggs into the world of stardom. Despite his celebrity status, Diggs never forgot his upbringing and how he grew into who he is now. Once the conversations started, Diggs eased himself and the audience into a night full of laughter, storytelling and themes of embracing those closest to us. 

During the Conversation

Tanya Gonzales, the ASI Association of Intercultural Awareness (AICA) chair, moderated this Beyond the Conversation. Gonzales steadily guided the conversation, asking Diggs questions about being a person of color in the entertainment industry and his perspective on creating art with intention. 

Multi-Talented Artist

Growing up, Diggs saw the artists around him put everything they had and more into the art they created despite the Bay not being a hub for the art industry. Art ended up being a vehicle for conversation.    

“People who are artists are often also working on jobs or they’re pulling it together in interesting ways as an artist. It’s a hustle, but there’s also so much heart in it… that’s just how you make art where I’m from,” Diggs said.  

Diggs recalled that he never knew anyone who was solely an artist of one medium, which drove him to be a “multi-hyphenated” artist and tell stories in various mediums. 

Change You Can’t See While in School

Before focusing solely on his art, Diggs was a former track star, which is how he landed a scholarship at Brown University. Eventually, Diggs began to focus more on the art he was producing and transferring his track skills to his newer, everyday life. But in every aspect of life, finding the purpose and applying what we’ve learned throughout school and life can be difficult. However, the lessons and failures will continue to help us improve all aspects of life.  

“It really wasn’t until afterwards, like many years later, when I saw people out in the real world using just small pieces of things that I was learning in class or that I had experienced that I was like, ‘oh!’,” said Diggs.  

Diggs then went on to talk about the two life lessons he learned from his time in college.  One, you shouldn’t overwork yourself; two, it’s hard to immediately use anything while learning and developing those skills. Diggs emphasized that you learn a lot when you’re young, but you should not let any of the hardships faced when learning these lessons get to you.  

“You should give yourself a break… you know what I’m saying? It’s okay it’s not all working right now. It’s probably not gonna,” continued Diggs, “…but it’s all right. Everything’s gonna be all right… you should really invest in the experiences you are having right now.”   

Despite not reaching stardom immediately after his 2004 graduation, Diggs emphasized the importance of his schooling in his journey through life. 

Making Art with Those Around You  

When asked if he ever thought his work with his band, clipping., and doing spoken word poetry would lead to him performing Broadway, Diggs said he had never imagined that was where his journey would lead. To him, Diggs was doing what he loved: making art with his friends.  

“Everything I’ve done that’s worth anything is either something I made with a friend, or something directly connected to something I made with a friend, right? And those have been not only the best things I think I’ve known, but also the ones that have had the most impact and the ones that have sort of leveled up my career in the most interesting ways,” emphasized Diggs.  

Rather than chasing the next big person or project, Diggs encouraged Titans to stop and appreciate those around them. There’s no certainty that someone’s next big break won’t come from the friends already around them.  

Past the Productions 

Gonzales then discussed Diggs’ experience as a person of color within the entertainment industry. After all, the fact that Diggs was a guest during Black History Month was significant in itself. Diggs has played a pivotal role behind the scenes on different sets as a writer and producer to advocate for more diverse crews. He even recalled having to rehire a whole crew for his “Blindspotting” TV show because he wanted the crew to reflect the communities they were portraying and filming in.   

“It was evident to us, like we would have to go be really proactive about these things… That’s what I learned about Hollywood,” said Diggs. “So those kinds of things were challenging. It’s not impossible to get around them; it’s just that creatives and creators and high-ranking people have to be really specific and intentional about it. And it’s hard.”   

While Diggs and his production were able to focus on the diversity of his crew, he reiterated that he was lucky they were able to rehire the entire staff. He stated that production crews are not typically as diverse as his, and the industry still has a long way to go before it becomes the norm. 

Rapping Founding Fathers 

Being most well-known for “Hamilton”, the musical was inevitably brought up during the conversation. 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the award-winning musical being produced. Diggs recalled how Lin Manuel Miranda had asked Diggs to be in the production and thought it wouldn’t be as significant as it ended up being.   

“Hamilton happened, and everybody cared, and none of us, I think, knew, and we were all like, what is happening?” Diggs recalled.  

He even recalled a time when, after a performance on Broadway, he had asked costar Christopher Jackson, a seasoned Broadway veteran, if it was normal to sign autographs for hours after a performance. Jackson responded that it was never like that.   

Diggs even laughed and had fun at the thought of many people thinking of him when imagining historical figures Thomas Jefferson and Marquis de Lafayette.  

“I liked hearing about his Hamilton experience the most,” stated attendees Gabby Diaz and Gabriella Drischler-Oropeza. “And how unexpected it was becoming so popular…how none of [the cast] expected it to become what it is today.”  

Diggs stated that he remains close to the original cast but has moved on from his time in the musical, expressing his gratitude for his time in his role. 

Storytelling and Seeing the World Around Us 

In all of Diggs’ art, you will find a piece of him.    

“What I feel like my job, as an artist, is to just honestly tell the story as true if I’m acting or from writing or from rapping or whatever it is, once we have settled on what the story is, my job is to be telling it to the best of my abilities and the politics of it are gonna follow that, right?” said Diggs.   

The importance of honesty about what is happening in society, especially in art, deeply resonated with Diggs.  

“Let’s not pretend that reality doesn’t exist in order to make a joke work,” said Diggs. “When you see something or experience a piece of art that makes you feel something, that is how you learn and how people are going to retain it, and that is how people are going to choose to act, not so you have to be moved to act.”  

The storytelling process resonated with attendees, inspiring some to be better storytellers themselves.  

“He said, ‘just honestly tell the story’, which is something I think a lot of us struggle with, you know?” stated attendee Macy Fay. “And I think the fact that some of the most profound art he’s made was just something he did as fun with friends. I think that’s more important than, like, any big title.”  

While Diggs’ has had years of experience being a storyteller, he encouraged Titans to wear their heart on their sleeve when making art and telling their stories. Everyone has stories, and telling them in the right ways only makes them more profound. 

Diggs Wraps it Up 

Throughout the conversation, Diggs was his authentic self, not only in the jokes he cracked but in his honesty about his work and viewpoints on the world. He even gave Titans insight into his experience working in animation and recommended his go-to food spots in the Bay area.   

“I got some really good advice as someone who wants to go and, cause I’m an animation major, so to get the industry is really like some of his work really inspiring tonight,” said attendees Camila Torres-Padilla and Stephanie Robles. “It’s nice, as artists, seeing artists brought in to speak for a big group of students.”  

While Diggs only spent a short time with Titans, his musing was profound and inspiring to those who attended the Beyond the Conversation. 

Behind the Beyond 

The goal of Beyond the Conversation has always been to showcase human beings as who they are. “At the end of the day, it’s more than just bringing out a celebrity just because they’re famous,” said moderator Gonzales. “It’s really about highlighting what they’ve been doing that really focuses on diversity social justice.”  

The AICA is a funding organization run through ASI’s programming and events department. The AICA aims to support multicultural organizations on campus by connecting them as a united front and offering funding for different events held by the organizations.  

The AICA has been integral to Beyond the Conversation since the series’ inception in 2021. “They’re kind of the voice that makes sure we have [our speakers], and [everyone is] represented,” says Kayla Lam, a programming and events coordinator. “[Because of the AICA, we] just to get, like, another perspective of someone whose complete focus is making sure that everyone feels included.”  

Now, as of Feb. 20, 2025, Beyond the Conversation has seen a total of 14 different speakers, ranging from activists like Angela Davis and David Hogg to A-List celebrities like Cynthia Erivo and Hunter Schafer, come to campus and talk about their livelihoods with Titans aspiring to do good in their lives. 

Conversations to Remember 

The 2024 – 2025 academic year may almost be complete at CSUF, but there are still conversations to be had before the end of the year. Beyond the Conversation with Daveed Diggs was the second of four Beyond the Conversations planned for the 2024-2025 academic year, proceeding with Cynthia Erivo in September.   

While Beyond the Conversation is already in its fourth year, there is no end in sight for the speaker series. “[E]veryone has been asking, ‘Who’s the next Beyond the Conversation? Who’s coming next? Who’s going to be here?’ That’s the kind of excitement that I enjoy seeing from students, and because of that excitement, I don’t think things are going to stop anytime soon.” says Lam.   

Lam, a fourth year, has been a part of the planning process since her sophomore year. She has seen the series grow over the years and become the highlight of ASI that it is today. “I just think it’s really cool to see all the students so engaged. I think that’s the point of our job, and personally, that’s where I get the most enjoyment from this job. Seeing the students so happy and making friends and all that stuff, it’s just really rewarding.”  

While seeing a celebrity in person can be thrilling, Beyond the Conversation strives to connect Titans to these celebrities on a deeper, human level.  

“[A]t the end of the day, it’s more than just bringing out a celebrity just because they’re famous. It’s really about highlighting what they’ve been doing that really focuses on diversity social justice. It’s more that they’re seen as a person and not just as a celebrity,” said Gonzales.  

As February is Black History Month, ASI wanted to amplify a powerful black voice for Titans. Diggs came to mind due to his role in “Hamilton,” a musical about white men and women where all the characters are played by people of color in a genre created by African Americans. Diggs’s life lessons communicate that nothing in life is more powerful than a mind that is set on achieving the goals it has set for itself.  

The next Beyond the Conversation will occur on Mar. 20, during ASI’s Social Justice Week. ASI’s AICA is more involved with this specific Beyond the Conversation and looks to highlight various social justice issues with the speaker. While they have yet to be announced, we cannot wait to hear from the next speaker and go beyond the conversation to learn more about them and their life and mindset.  

To keep up to date on future Beyond the Conversations and ASI programming, follow ASICSUF on Instagram or visit the programming tab on the ASI website.