In the early hours of June 5, 2002, Elizabeth Smart was woken up by the sound of footsteps.

“I have a knife to your neck. Don’t make a sound. Get out of bed and come with me, or I will kill you and your family,” Smart heard according to Time.

Smart was abducted at the age of 14 from her home at knifepoint and was held in captivity by a self-proclaimed prophet named Emmanuel (Brian David Mitchell) and his wife Wanda Barzee.

Smart was moved between California and Utah, was forced to wear a headscarf and veil over her face when in public and, for a period of time, was shackled to a tree with a metal cable.

Smart was rescued nine months later and now she travels around the country to “educate, inspire and foster change,” according to the Lectures Program.

Now Smart will be giving her message titled “From Adversity to Empowerment” at Iowa State at 7 p.m. Friday in Stephens Auditorium.

The event is free but there is limited priority seating. Iowa State students can show their ISU ID for limited first-floor seating until 6:30 p.m.

“She created the Elizabeth Smart Foundation to help prevent crimes against children and worked with the Department of Justice to create a survivors’ guide,” according to the Lectures Program.

Smart chronicled her experiences in her books “My Story” and “Where There’s Hope: Healing, Moving Forward, and Never Giving Up.”

After the lecture, there will be a Q&A portion and a book signing will be available in the Celebrity Café on the lower level.

A campus resource fair will be held after the lecture in the lower level of Stephens Auditorium and will feature representatives from the Iowa State Police Department, Thielen Student Health Center, Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, ISU Department of Public Safety, Ames Police Department, Margaret Sloss Women’s Center and other university and community programs relating to trauma, recovery and personal safety.