Cast members of hit MTV show 'The Buried Life' to speak at UND Wednesday

Two members of the hit show, The Buried Life, will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, at the Chester Fritz Auditorium.  The appearance is sponsored by the University Program Council.

The Buried Life (TBL) originated in 2006 when four now 20-somethings, Ben Nemtin, Dave Lingwood, Duncan Penn and Jonnie Penn, set out in an old RV to complete a list of "100 Things We Want To Do Before We Die," and help strangers along the way accomplish something on their own lists. The foursome pulled a borrowed '57 Dodge Coachman RV out of a field, bought a secondhand camera for $100 on eBay, and hit the road for two weeks to see how many items they could check off their list.

On their journey, TBL approached people to ask the question, "What do YOU want to do before you die? In 2008, MTV helped the team check off #53: Make a TV Show, by capturing the four in a reality show, in real time with no manipulation and no assistance from MTV, except for cameras rolling.

Over an eight-week period, a grassroots movement grew to over 1.2 million Facebook Fans, more than 150,000 Twitter followers, followers from people in 220 countries, and two million views per month on their web site. In 2012 they completed another milestone on their list with the release of the New York Times best-selling book, What Do You Want To Do Before You Die?

The event is open to the public, and the first 500 students will receive a free The Buried Life book.  UPC will also work with the United Way Program to help raise funds for "Dolly Parton's Imagination Library," a program created by Dolly Parton to supply books to children who don't have them (Dolly Parton grew up with only one book in her house).

For more information contact the University Program Council at und.upc@email.und.edu.