Molly Hudgens is a Safe & Sound Schools speaker booked by Kirkland Productions.

About

On September 28, 2016, Molly Hudgens, a school counselor in Pleasant View, Tennessee, averted a school shooting when a fourteen-year-old eighth grader, armed with a semi-automatic handgun and an additional magazine of ammunition, came to her in the counseling department at Sycamore Middle School with a plan to harm people on their campus. He told her, “I think you’re the only person who can talk me out of this.” After ninety minutes of talking and ultimately praying with the young man on her knees beside him, Hudgens was able to convince the student to relinquish the weapon to her with no shots fired and no lives lost. As a result of her intervention, Hudgens became a 2017 recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s Citizens Honor for a single act of heroism.

Hudgens is a 1998 and 2000 graduate of Western Kentucky University with a bachelor of arts degree in English and Allied Language Arts and a master of arts education degree in counseling. She is currently completing her twenty-fourth year as an educator in the Cheatham County School System where she continues to serve as a school counselor at Sycamore Middle. In addition to her counseling role, Mrs. Hudgens also currently serves on SMS’ Crisis Management and Leadership Teams as well as co-sponsoring the Jr. Beta Society at her school.

During her tenure in education, Hudgens has served as the president of the Alpha Chi chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International and is an active member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. Hudgens was also the writer of an NFL Play 60 Super School Grant for Sycamore Middle School.

After a personal experience in college, her interest in violence prevention and safety sparked a desire to educate others who work with intervening in the lives of potentially violent teenagers. Her in-depth study on school shootings and the teenagers who commit these acts, “Recognizing Red Flags,” written prior to the averted school shooting incident at her school, has been utilized nationally to train professionals in the fields of education, law enforcement, juvenile probation, and juvenile court. The training focuses on understanding the three types of school shooters and how to use threat assessment tools as an intervention to prevent violent acts in a school and community setting.

Hudgens, the 2004-2005 and 2016-2017 Sycamore Middle School and Cheatham County Middle School Teacher of the Year, is also the 2017 recipient of the Tennessee School Counseling Association’s Phoebe White Award for Excellence in School Counseling and the 2019 Mental Health of the Midsouth's I.C. Hope Award for bringing mental health awareness to schools.

Hudgens has been the recipient of three state recognitions for heroic actions on September 28, 2016—a Proclamation from the Tennessee House of Representatives in October of 2016, House Resolution No. 66 from the Tennessee House of Representatives in March of 2017, and Senate Resolution No. 40 from the Tennessee State Senate in April of 2017. Mrs. Hudgens has also been a nominee for the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission as well as the American Hero Channel’s Red Bandanna Hero Award in 2017.

Hudgens is a member of the Professional Educators of Tennessee, the Tennessee School Counseling Association, and the American School Counseling Association. She is also a treasurer and choir member at Friendship Church. Because she is the first Congressional Medal of Honor Citizens Honor Recipient from Tennessee, her story is exhibited in the Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she serves as a member of the Advisory Board.

Molly's story will become part of a national initiative when her Sycamore Middle School counseling office is recreated in its entirety as it appeared on September 28, 2016, as part of the Congressional Medal of Honor Citizens Honor exhibit in the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas, slated to open in 2024.

Mrs. Hudgens is the owner of Molly B. Hudgens Communications and is a national motivational speaker as well as a violence prevention specialist. Hudgens' book, Saving Sycamore: The School Shooting that Never Happened, published by Dave Burgess Consulting in October of 2020, chronicles the story of Hudgens’ life and of the event of 9/28/16. Molly is also a speaker for Safe and Sound Schools through Kirkland Productions.

​Molly resides in Ashland City, Tennessee where she lives on her family farm with her husband, Jason, and sons, Bradley and Henry.

popular programs

Saving Sycamore: The School Shooting That Never Happened
45-minute to 1-hour keynote + up to 45-minute Q&A/meet & greet
Molly shares the story of how she prevented a school shooting on September 28, 2016. When a student with a fully-loaded semi-automatic handgun came to her with a plan to kill people on the school’s campus, he told her, “I came to you because you’re the only person who can talk me out of this.” After a ninety-minute intervention, the student relinquished the weapon to Hudgens with no shots fired and no lives lost.  Hudgens’ retelling of the event walks the audience through the specifics of the incident that took place in her office and highlights previous training that affected her decision-making process during the event. Hudgens speaks boldly of her faith throughout and challenges those in attendance to remember that every human interaction matters and that one life can make a difference.  Hudgens became the first Tennessean and only the tenth woman to become a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation’s Citizens Medal of Honor for her efforts that day.

Audience: Educators, school safety personnel, law enforcement, SROs, juvenile probation
The Dissection & Intervention of an "Almost" School Shooter: How Recognizing Red Flags Can Prevent Tragedy
90-minute to three-hour keynote/session + up to 45-minute Q&A/meet & greet
On September 28, 2016, middle school counselor, Molly Hudgens, would be faced with the most difficult day of her 18-year career when a 14-year-old student, armed with a semi-automatic handgun, additional ammunition, and a plan to harm people on campus, came to her in the counseling department of a rural school In Pleasant View, Tennessee.  He claimed that he came to her because she was “the only person who could talk him out of it.” Over the course of 90 minutes, Hudgens would convince the young man to relinquish the weapon with no shots fired and no lives lost.  The incident would earn Hudgens the Congressional Medal of Honor’s Citizens Honor for a single act of heroism.

In this workshop, Hudgens, a 21-year veteran of education, guides the audience through the entire ninety minutes of the incident using pictures and her first-person account of that day. Designed to teach professionals how to recognize and respond to young people in crisis, Hudgens’ dissection of “The School Shooting that Never Happened” parallels an in-depth psychological study of school shooters with the behaviors and actions of the young man at her school for the year leading up to and the day of his incident.  Hudgens’ explanation will demonstrate how 18 years of research into the psychological mindset of violent teenage offenders on campus prepared her to “Recognize the Red Flags” she used to save her life and that of others at her school that day…including the young man involved.

Participants will leave prepared to make changes to their crisis plans in order to include not only recognition of potential offenders and threat assessment tools, but also how to incorporate interventions through mental health counseling, student connectedness, and staff preparedness.

Audience: Educators, Law Enforcement, SROs, Juvenile Court
​Saving Sycamore: How Faith and Prayer Averted a Mass Shooting
45-minute to 1-hour keynote + up to 45-minute Q&A/meet & greet
​On September 28, 2016, Molly Hudgens, a school counselor at Sycamore Middle School in Pleasant View, Tennessee, averted a mass shooting when a fourteen-year-old eighth grader armed with a fully-loaded, semi-automatic handgun and additional ammunition came to her with a plan to harm people on campus.  It would take ninety minutes, and praying with the young man on her knees beside him before he would relinquish the weapon. In her testimony presentation, Hudgens shares how her faith was paramount in preventing a massacre at her school and explains in detail how God prepared her for a spiritual battle that would take place on holy ground in a public school. 

Audience: Church congregations
Saving Sycamore: How to Avert a Mass Shooting on Your Campus
90-minute keynote + up to 45-minute Q&A/meet & greet
​On September 28, 2016, Molly Hudgens, a school counselor at Sycamore Middle School in Pleasant View, Tennessee, averted a mass shooting when a fourteen-year-old eighth grader armed with a fully-loaded, semi-automatic handgun and additional ammunition came to her with a plan to harm people on campus. He told her that she was the only person who could talk it him out of it.  After ninety minutes and praying with the young man, he relinquished the weapon with no shots fired and no lives lost.  In this presentation Hudgens shares the impact of relationships and school culture on preventing school violence while offering steps to strengthen the safety of students on your own school campuses. 

Audience: Educators, SROs
​The Best Plan You Hope to Never Use: Building a Crisis Plan
1-hour keynote + up to 45-minute Q&A/meet & greet
Molly Hudgens, a school counselor at Sycamore Middle School in Pleasant View, Tennessee, averted a school shooting on September 28, 2016, when an armed eighth grader came to her with plans to harm people on her school campus.  After talking with the young man for ninety minutes, he relinquished the weapon.  In this presentation Hudgens shares how her school created, evaluated, and redesigned their school crisis plan and gives tips as to how to strength the plan you are using in your school. 

Audience: Educators, SROs
​Recognizing Red Flags: An Educator’s Role in Preventing Teen Violence
6-hour session​
On September 28, 2016, middle school counselor, Molly Hudgens, would be faced with the most difficult day of her 18-year career when a 14-year-old student, armed with a semi-automatic handgun, additional ammunition, and a plan to harm people on campus, came to her in the counseling department of a rural school In Pleasant View, Tennessee.  He claimed that he came to her because she was “the only person who could talk him out of it.” Over the course of 90 minutes, Hudgens would convince the young man to relinquish the weapon with no shots fired and no lives lost.  The incident would earn Hudgens the Congressional Medal of Honor’s Citizens Honor for a single act of heroism.

In this workshop, Hudgens, a 21-year veteran of education, guides the audience through the entire ninety minutes of the incident using pictures and her first-person account of that day. Designed to teach professionals how to recognize and respond to young people in crisis, Hudgens’ dissection of “The School Shooting that Never Happened” parallels an in-depth psychological study of school shooters with the behaviors and actions of the young man at her school for the year leading up to and the day of his incident.  Hudgens’ explanation will demonstrate how 18 years of research into the psychological mindset of violent teenage offenders on campus prepared her to “Recognize the Red Flags” she used to save her life and that of others at her school that day…including the young man involved.

Participants will leave prepared to make changes to their crisis plans in order to include not only recognition of potential offenders and threat assessment tools, but also how to incorporate interventions through mental health counseling, student connectedness, and staff preparedness.

Audience: Educators, Law Enforcement, SROs, Juvenile Court, Safety Specialists

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As Director of Security and Safety at Franklin Road Academy I was fortunate to have Molly come to our school this past October and speak not only to our faculty, but also to all our upper school students.  I became aware of Molly’s testimony this past summer while attending a campus safety conference in Dallas, Texas where she was the keynote speaker.  I told our Head of School about Molly’s testimony and how important it would be to have her speak to our school which we were able to do.  Molly’s testimony on how she handled a very critical incident clearly resonated not only with our faculty, but also with our students.  I had several students and faculty members reach out to me after her testimony who told me how powerful her message was and are they are now more cognizant of any student who may be at risk.  I would highly recommend having Molly speak to your institution and share her testimony.

Jeff Wiser
Director of Security and Safety
Franklin Road Academy

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Bestselling Author of Permanent Midnight and I, Fatty

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