Taylor Armstrong will kick off SPA’s Distinguished Speaker Series with a lecture in collaboration with Penn State’s Gender Equity Center. Armstrong will focus on her experience with domestic abuse at 8 p.m. Monday, October 15 in the HUB’s Heritage Hall.

Armstrong experienced domestic abuse during her marriage to Russell Armstrong, when the two were featured on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. During the show, other cast members began to discover and expose the couple’s money troubles and abuse.

In her memoir Hiding from Reality: My Story of Love, Loss, and Finding the Courage Within, Armstrong brought readers on her journey of abuse and how she felt like she was running for herself.

Armstrong has said she’s inspired to tell her story to help other women.

The lecture is free for students, thanks to SPA. Tickets will be available starting today and can be picked up in the SPA office (226 HUB) or the Gender Equity Center (204 Boucke). Tickets for non-students will be available Monday, October 8.