On Feb. 29, Aragon invited Mike Smith, a motivational speaker and founder of the “Skate For Change” foundation, to speak to all grade levels separately in the Aragon theater. Smith discussed his personal story and background, sharing his overall message about making a difference during one’s high school career.
Aragon Leadership adviser Melissa Perino explained how Leadership was impressed by his presentation skills while listening to him last semester and invited him to speak for the Aragon community. She says, “In August, we heard him speak again at the San Mateo theater. Leadership has this training camp during the summer at Tracy High School. Mike Smith was a speaker and he was really inspirational and influential. We have organized a new class in Aragon called Renaissance, where we try to change the climate of the school to become more positive.”
Smith had influenced Aragon even prior to his speech. Perino says, “We have geared for the school climate in a positive atmosphere. We have developed the Renaissance Leadership class, where we try to boost the school’s morale. We have done the Lip Dub, Don Dollars, Campus Recognition, Give What You Can, campaigns, and rallies. All of these events were especially inspired by Mike Smith.”
Renaissance student junior Haley Sunga mentions one of the motivations for inviting Smith. She says, “The Leadership committee chose Mike Smith to be the guest speaker at Aragon because he is a major contributor to non-profit organizations. When he speaks, it totally moves you and inspires you to do great things.”
Senior Isa Ng discussed the message that students should take away from this experience. She says, “I hope that students can take initiative and take Leadership as a class. A lot of students look down on the Leadership class. Hopefully, with this experience, it can change their minds and realize that Leadership is not a bad thing.”
Smith explains his reason to share his message to high schoolers, saying, “I chose to speak to high school students because there is hardly a time in your life, where it is [more] important to make changes in your life or have a meaningful impact in your life than high school. I believe that it’s important to make changes in high school because high school is the part of your life where you make habits that make a passage to who you will be or who you want to be in your life.”
Smith explains his motivation, saying, “I never really [am] worried about what other people think of me. And so, as a result, I just keep on doing things I am very passionate about, and help plan events. Usually, in high school, when students plan certain events out, they expect everyone to come and get bummed out if they don’t. The thing with me is that I do not really get bummed out when people do not attend my event.”
When asked about her thoughts on Mike Smith, senior Juliana Stahr says, “I like Mike Smith for educating students about social media and generally topics that would affect our everyday lives that is never discussed but always thought of by students. I know that as teenagers nowadays, we generally pay more attention to our appearance … Mike Smith made us realize that success is not generally being about the most popular kid or having the most followers or likes in social media. Success is more about the ability to reach out to others, equality, and helping out the poor.”
Stahr continued on about how her personal experiences cross parallel lines to Calvin’s story. She says, “Coming [from] a private school with only 18 girls and 18 boys, I was this shy awkward freshman handling a very diverse group of students. The transition from private middle school to high school was very different for me, since I [had] the chance to meet all sorts of new people and their personalities. I know what it feels like to be isolated, but I do believe that students may not experience this ongoing feeling on a daily basis. However, I believe that it should be our responsibility to help students like Calvin.”
Senior Emma Mester believes that students should practice inclusivity while being mindful that in some cases, people prefer privacy rather than socialization. She adds, “I do notice people that tend to stay in the shadows. But, I feel that it is important to reach out to them and try to talk to them. There have been times where I want and like to be alone … I think people should be more sensitive about appreciating people’s privacy and their interest to being alone.”
Junior Dominique Tatum also discussed her favorite part of Mike Smith’s story. She says, “My favorite part of the speech was listening to him adopting Calvin, which was very heartwarming given their long history together. I enjoyed the brother relationship between the two guys, and how they needed each other for support. His story about opening a coffee shop for former prostitutes and uneducated, undergraduate women was truly inspirational and amazing. I also liked how he gives beanies to the homeless.”
Mike Smith acknowledged the quality traits that embody a leader. All in all he concludes, “A leader in my eyes is about how hard you work and how you treat people. These qualities of hard work and respect towards other people puts you in the position to impact other people’s lives. A leader is not necessarily someone who is the “best” at what they do, but is someone who can emotionally attach and connect themselves to people and be able to affect their lives in a positive atmosphere.”
