Friday, May 2, 2008
North County Times
High School Students Learn To Put Excuses Aside
Rancho Buena Vista High School student Denia Valdovinos found out Friday that drawing a picture with her feet was much more difficult than she thought.
The challenge was part of a motivational speech offered to freshmen at the campus. School officials said they hoped it would show the benefits of hard work and ultimately boost grades.
Tom Willis, who was born without arms, gave the presentation and had no problem drawing a detailed picture of a character from the "SpongeBob SquarePants" television show. Willis was hoping to show the students that anything is possible with enough motivation and hard work, he said.
Students at the assembly said it worked. "Everything is possible if you put your head to it," Valdovinos said after Willis' presentation, adding that she thought the speech would encourage her to work harder at school.
Classmate Sheila Ortega agreed. She said the speech would help some of students get past negative thoughts. "Instead of being lazy all the time, if I want to do something, I have to work hard," she said.
Organizers said they were pleased to have roughly 130 freshmen show up for the early morning speech, held before the school day began.
Phone messages were sent to all 860 of the school's freshmen, and school staff personally called roughly 120 students who have been struggling in classes. The school also got the word out with the help of teachers and fliers posted around the campus.
The goal was that the presentation would help students avoid making excuses and push forward with what's important in life. said Ricardo Navarrette, who coordinates the Gear Up program at the school. "The most important message that they're going to get is, life is all about adapting and moving forward with what you have," he said.
Bringing Willis to the school was arranged through Gear Up, a college preparatory program offered in several NorthCounty schools that is funded through a federal grant. Through the program, coordinators track eighth and ninth graders in seven schools in Vista and San Marcos, offering them help and encouraging them toward college.
Melody Peck, an English teacher at Rancho Buena Vista, suggested bringing Willis to the school after seeing him on television. "Once I saw him, I could not stop thinking about having him come to our school to speak to our students," she said. "I knew he could capture their interest and maybe change lives." Willis, who lives in San Diego, started a career as a motivational speaker in 2002. Before that, he worked as a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a television producer.
He said that he hopes speaking to students will help them become more accepting of people with disabilities or anybody who is different from them.
"It's a good feeling to know that, hopefully, you've made a big difference," he said after Friday's presentation. "They remember the message."
Contact staff writer Stacy Brandt at (760) 901-4009 or sbrandt@nctimes.com.