Once again we had been invited to be the school’s Prom Promise partner for the entire senior class of over 700 seniors. As always we presented powerful speakers and provided a creative outlet for the T.C. youth to speak up and out through spoken word and slam poetry. This isn’t a rally about telling the youth what to do, this is a rally to empower them to tell us what they need.
This year we were honored to share the stage with Dr. Lonise Bias, an internationally known motivational speaker, trainer, consultant, and certified teen and family life coach. Dr. Bias challenged students to question the effects of their decision not just on themselves but on the people who care for them most. Almost 30 years later, the story behind the death of her oldest son, Len Bias a University of Md. basketball player due to cocaine intoxication, still provides a profound lesson that youth are still learning from today.
The youth voices were provided by veteran slam poets and T.C. Williams seniors Yonas Araya and Karen Galeas. After weeks of workshops with Mentor Foundation USA Program Coordinator Joseph Green, the students shared transformative original poems on the effects substance abuse has had in their personal lives.
The Mentor Foundation USA is grateful for the opportunity to work with the amazing students of T.C. Williams and looks forward to continue working with this and many more schools across the United States..
To see a video from the Shattering The Myths held at the House of Sweden earlier this year click on the following link. https://youtu.be/Br5jkGn4bQs
By Joseph Green