Project: GO, inspired by my past local and state public speaking engagements, is a public speaking project that seeks to motivate high school and college students to get ready, get set, and get going towards achieving their goals and dreams by overcoming obstacles in their path.
As a professional speaker, I feel that I can connect with high school and college students and relate to them in a comically fresh and hip manner by blending the old school values I was taught by my grandparents (who raised me) with the new school way of life.
In high school, I was involved in athletics, performing arts, and student organizations. I played Varsity Basketball and Tennis. I was Concert Master for my high school’s orchestra program (where I played the violin). I participated in and held leadership positions with the Academic Team, French Club, Interact Club, Multicultural Club, Spirit Club, and Student Council. In college, I was involved in athletics and student organizations while working on campus. I served as a member of the Clemson University Cheerleading Squad. I participated in and held leadership positions with with the Clemson University Chapter of National Residence Hall Honorary, Clemson University Residence Hall Association, LeaderShape Institute, South Atlantic Affiliate of College & University Residence Halls, and South Carolina Organization for Residential Education.
I personally went through a myriad of situations as a high school and college student that seriously deterred me from my passions, goals, and dreams. I almost gave up multiple times. However, with the help of some wonderful support systems, I was able to graduate from high school with honors (almost giving up playing basketball twice and ultimately giving up tennis to focus on things of greater importance while dealing with having both of my parents back in my life consistently during my high school years), graduate from Clemson University as an undergrad on time (even with my severe academic difficulties that put me in jeopardy of dropping out of college), get accepted into the top two graduate school programs of study (the M.A. in Higher Education Administration program at Appalachian State University and the Master of Business Administration program at the University of Phoenix) during my grad school search (knowing that with my meager undergrad GPA and GRE test scores, I would extremely lucky to get accepted as a provisional student), and working my tail off as a provisional student in my MBA program to become regularly accepted and complete my MBA before the age of 30 (a goal that I set for myself before my senior year in high school).
As I have succeeded in the midst of my struggles, I feel that it is my responsible to share my testimony so that others can ultimately succeed. The following is an example of what I can talk about with high school and college students:
- How to make the grade and graduate from high school
- How to overcome academic difficulties and graduate from college
- How to make the best out of your college experience
- How to navigate through the undergraduate/graduate school search and admissions process
- How to prepare for life after college
- How to overcome your fear of public speaking and become a great communicator
- How to balance your role as a student-athlete
- The importance of student involvement
- The importance of living on campus
I will post project developments periodically on my website. Ready…Set…Project: GO!
