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Bucks County Technical High School

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Youth Motivational Speaker and Teen Mental Health Speaker Plants Seeds at Bucks County Technical High School.

November 12, 2019 – The seniors are arriving into the auditorium. It’s 9 a.m. and I’m back. This auditorium is familiar. I’ve been coming to this school for more than 10 years.

Arrived Bucks County Technical High School

Kevin Gentilcore, Director of Pupil Services is my point of contact. BCTHS was once another client but seeing Mr. Gentilcore annually has become inspirational and what I look forward to now. He’s like my coach – my mentor. I love this man.

I’m out in the hallway watching the seniors come in. I hear words like, “This assembly better not be a waste of time,” which is typical from seniors with fixed mindsets. Nonetheless, I always get inspired when I hear these words from high school students.

In the hallway awaiting the seniors to arrive for the high school motivational assembly…

As a youth motivational speaker, my job is to plant seeds. I’ve learned in 28 years that planting seeds is really all I do. It’s all I have control over.

The younger, egotistical Jeff Yalden used to think he was changing the world. I’m not. I’m planting seeds. It’s more fun thinking this way too.

At 48, you’d think I was too old and can’t relate to young people anymore. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. I relate more now than ever before. I’m more present and having more fun. I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been. I don’t need validation anymore. I care more about the teachable moment.

The seniors take their seats. Mr. Gentilcore is sitting in the back. He knows me, no introduction needed. The students don’t care about introductions. If they want to know me, they can google Jeff Yalden or find me on social media @Jeff Yalden.

Youth Motivational Speaker Needs No Introduction

Introductions make me anxious. This isn’t about me. It’s about the students in front of me.

“Let’s go!”, I think to myself. I’m ready to speak and plant seeds. I’m excited.

From the moment I start, I calculate that roughly 90 percent of the students are giving me their undivided attention. The outlying 10 percent take a minute but quickly become glued and focused.

As I am speaking and I have the attention of 350 seniors, I’m feeling seeds being planted. Words are being heard. I’m getting comfortable in front of my audience. Yes, after 28 years as a youth motivational and teen mental health speaker, I still get nervous speaking in high school assemblies.

An hour and a half later the high school assembly is over.

As the seniors exit the auditorium, I’m standing outside in the hallway in case any student wants to shake my hand and say, “Thank you!” or wants to thank me for my service as a Marine.

Students line up one by one thanking me and telling me how much my words meant to them. With each hand I shake I’m very careful to look each senior or staff member in the eyes, acknowledging that I’m appreciative that they listened. I never want a student or anybody else to walk away thinking, “Jeff Yalden doesn’t care about me.” I’m present and try hard to make sure every handshake includes eye contact, and I say, “Thank you for listening.”

They listened (growth mindset). I did what I love. I spoke to high school students in a student high school assembly. I planted seeds. I love this. It’s what I do, but they chose to listen.

Students Want To talk

It always happens that a few students want to talk privately.

Today, it was five seniors who weren’t expecting to have their emotions moved or shaken. That’s good. A lot of seniors walked out, shaking my hand saying, “Dude, you made me think today!” Good.

Two young ladies I talked to dealing with some heavy stuff. Emotions, thoughts, feelings, their future – lonely, disappointed and dealing with burdensome thoughts. These are typical conversations I have with teens.

Two Things I believe about Teens and their Upbringing

  • Don’t put teens in positions where they have no control.
  • Don’t ask teens to have to make adult decisions or to assume adult responsibilities.

I spend about 30 minutes addressing these issues before turning them over to Mr. Gentilcore, knowing he will do the right thing and bring this to the attention of the school counselor.

I am proud of these seniors for sharing. You can’t keep it in forever. It’s okay to talk and what I do is give them permission to address what they’re feeling in their heart. It’s part of planting the seeds I’m talking about.

I also quickly met with three boys who wanted to thank me. They told me how impactful my words were. Pretty awesome, if you ask me.

Why Teens Don’t Open Up

Teens need a trusted and significant adult in their lives, but very few actually have one in place to help guide them through life’s sometimes choppy waters. This is alarming, it’s very common today. This should be concerning to adults who have teens in their lives.

Teens don’t trust adults – even their teachers, counselors or parents. They’re afraid to talk and don’t know how. They’re afraid to be judged and they have built up walls.

Teens are also afraid that their thoughts and feelings will not be validated – and that the adults will only try to fix what they are going through, when they know deep down that they need to face these issues themselves.

What can our teachers, coaches and parents do to show the kids in their lives that they care? Be present. Be real. Share your story so they know you understand what they might be feeling or what they’re going through.

Teens Ask Two Questions

The two questions all teens need answers to are…

  • Can I trust you?
  • Do you care about me?

When you show up in a child’s life every day, you answer these questions whether you realize it or not – by your gestures, the way you walk and talk – by your presence and your smile. These things speak louder than words. Be mindful of the message you are sending.

So, the high school assembly at BCTHS is over. Jeff Yalden leaves the building after a hug and a THANK YOU to Mr. Kevin Gentilcore.

High School Assembly Ends

Another great visit. Another great school assembly. Another day speaking to students and PLANTING SEEDS.

Now it’s up to the seniors to do something with the seeds that were planted.

Thanks again, BCTHS. See you next year.

Who is Youth Mental Health Motivational Speaker Jeff Yalden

Jeff Yalden is highly regarded as one of the top mental health experts in the world primarily focused on education and school communities working with teens, school administration, counselors, teachers, staff, parents and community leaders.

He’s a four-time best-selling author including his latest book, TEEN SUICIDE: The WHY Behind Today’s Suicide Epidemic.

His Podcast: Mental Health and Motivation continues to attract thousands of new subscribers every month for his direct talk and influence on today’s mental health conversations for teens and adults.

You can learn more about Jeff Yalden by visiting his website – www.JeffYalden.com. You can also learn more about Jeff’s Suicide Prevention Online Course for School Communities and Parents, Jeff Yalden University, and follow Jeff on YouTube and Social Media by clicking on the links below:

For more information, please visit www.JeffYalden.com or click on any link below:

Online Suicide Prevention Course for School Communities

Book: Teen Suicide: They WHY Behind America’s Suicide Epidemic  

Facebook Page

School Resources

Join Mailing List: Text YALDEN to 66866

Third Time’s a Charm: Jeff Yalden Inspires Hudson Falls High School

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On April 11, youth motivational speaker Jeff Yalden arrived at Hudson Falls High School in Hudson Falls, New York, where he kicked off the school’s career day with one of his hard-hitting assemblies. For Yalden, the third time was the charm. “Weather prevented the first two attempts,” he said, adding that he was on his way the first time – and was actually in town the second time, watching a varsity basketball game the night before – but a snowstorm caused school to be cancelled the next day. “I had to leave and pay my own expenses to come all the way back, but – that’s what you do.” He said that assistant principal Danielle Kuba was his point of contact, and had been trying to get him to come back to speak for the past few years. Jeff’s assembly was followed by a career day, coupled with a St. Baldrick’s Foundation fundraiser for childhood cancer research. In the assembly, Yalden drilled down on topics such as self-esteem and authenticity. “When things aren’t right in my life – even today – the first place I go is to the mirror,” he told them. “The fear of failure – you need to lose that real quick. Value yourself. Figure out who you are now – not who you want to be then – because then may never work out the way you want it to be. And it’s really important to figure out who you are not.” The kids participated in mindfulness training and were exposed to various careers, including law enforcement, education and the military. They were even given pointers on financial planning for their futures. “They had a few former students who were addicted to drugs and had to go to rehab and go through the court system. They came back and spoke to the kids, and they were awesome,” Yalden said. Yalden presented a mental health and teen suicide prevention program. The last part of the day was spent raising money for St. Baldrick’s – and this involved the shaving of heads, including those of students and event coordinator Kim Shea. Yalden offered to pay the difference to make sure Shea had her head shaved, with students chanting, “Shave the Shea! Shave the Shea!” “We raised more than $1000 to conquer kids’ cancer and a great day of school spirit. I am just really inspired about the day here – it’s about the relationship between the kids and the staff – and the staff and the kids. I think all of this contributes to a very successful experience,” he said. Shea was happy to see everybody participating in something above and beyond the confines of a regular school day. “When we have activities like this in our school that aren’t necessarily purely academic – when we take the time to connect with our students in different ways than we connect with them every day – it should encourage them to want to be here,  and hopefully they will see all of us – all of the people from the community, all their teachers, their teaching assistants, the support staff in our building – and they will recognize that we really care about them in 100 different ways that they might not really consider on a daily basis,” she said. Kuba cited the day as one of the best she has had since she started there as assistant principal in January. “I loved seeing our kids in a different light,” she said. “I loved seeing them having fun. I loved seeing them connecting with each other – and to see them tune in to Jeff was incredible. To see them connecting with their teachers and the other staff members was just an absolute joy.” Principal Jim Bennefield was equally impressed with the day. “It’s just nice to see our kids live up to their potential. That’s the potential we know they have every day. We don’t get to see that every day, and hopefully we will see more of that going forward,” he said.

High School Motivational Speaker Mesmerizes Lena Students

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Best Youth Motivational Speaker Inspires in Lena, Wisconsin Jeff Yalden Delivers at Wisconsin Student Council Event in Lena, WI. By Roger Yale for Jeff Yalden, Youth Motivational Speaker By all accounts, the school district in the Village of Lena, Wisconsin is a small one – consisting of an elementary school, a combined middle and high school and an alternative school with a total population of just over 400 kids. Lena itself is a very small community. But administrators in many bigger districts with overcrowded and understaffed schools would perhaps see the incredible value in this. The Lena Public School District’s website boasts that “we have low student to teacher ratios as well as the opportunity for individual attention that is attainable in a small district. Some students do not realize the advantage we, as Lena Wildcats, have.” On Monday, February 13, top teen motivational speaker Jeff Yalden was on hand for a high school student council event for 47 students from 9 surrounding schools – speaking on topics from his toolbox such as personal leadership, leading by influence and the importance of believing in yourself. Yalden was impressed with a student named Josh, who displayed excellent leadership traits and unselfishness right off the bat. “We always talk about student leadership and your influence on people. Every school has students or a student we always see sitting alone. We always talk about – ‘hey, go introduce yourself to that person or go befriend that person. Invite them over to sit with your friends.’ Well I brought my nephew Gus to this conference – I just watched [Josh] get up out of his group friends and go introduce himself to Gus and to over to the students sitting alone – and invited them to sit with his group.” To Yalden, that’s what leadership is – reaching out of your comfort zone and making sure that everybody is a part of the team. “Leadership is about doing the right thing,” he said. Lunch was then served by the school’s culinary class. “They did a beautiful lunch. The food class did an incredible job of serving all of the kids and the advisors,” Yalden said. After lunch, Jeff presented a leadership-building activity that he calls “The Longest Human Bridge,” where groups were challenged to connect with each other, with very little contact with the ground. The point of this exercise was summed up by Yalden: “I wanted them to understand the importance of communication and to think outside the box – to work together and to never give up,” he said. Yalden, who has has addressed more than 4000 teen audiences in all 50 states, every province in Canada and 49 countries, said the challenge he encountered with the kids in Lena was that they were very quiet. “We were north of Green Bay by about 30 minutes, and I don’t know if these kids were just shocked, but I have been noticing that a lot of young people today are just very quiet. But nonetheless, they were awesome.” At the end of the day, Yalden spoke to the middle school and high school students from the Lena School District. “It’s hard to make students and adults happy at the same time – but for an hour and ten minutes, we had an absolute blast,” he said. “Kids and teachers were laughing hysterically, and it was so much fun. We talked about believing in yourself, your attitude, your choices – doing the best you can, and goal setting.” Yalden has long believed that a dream will always be a dream unless it is backed up by a plan of action, and he set about to teach these students that important difference. “True leaders do not compare themselves to other people. Too many of you are willing to compromise your success for what you want right now,” he said. Find out why Jeff Yalden is North America’s Number One Youth Motivational Speaker, go to www.jeffyalden.com. Recently, Jeff was the keynote speaker for the Arizona State Student Council Conference too.  Watch his video here: To book Jeff now for your event, organization or school now, call 800-948-9289. Best High School Motivational Speaker, Character Education, Character Education Speakers, Lena School District, Lena Wisconsin, High School Speaker, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Schools, Green Bay, Student Council, Leadership, Jeff Yalden, Mental Health Speaker, Teen Mental Health Awareness, Teen Mental Health Speaker, Teen Speaker, Youth Motivational Speaker

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