My first presentation!

I gave my first presentation today to the local high school juniors and seniors. It was part of the pre-prom talk that they get every year. I had Trooper Ortiz there from the Florida Highway Patrol. Bill and my mom were there for support. I had to do the presentation twice.

The trooper introduced the video I made of Stephen. I sat in the front row while the students watched it. There were definitely some laughs in the beginning, but when it got to the heartbeat part and pics of his funeral and his crash, I had their full attention.

Right after the video, I got up to speak. Right off the bat, I told them that they'd have to bear with me. This my first time ever speaking to a group about this and I was a little nervous. I didn't prepare a speech either. I just spoke from my heart and chatted with them. I wanted to show them that I'm a young person, like them, and not some hoity-toity person trying to lecture them.

Then I did my Powerpoint presentation about the effects of alcohol on the body and life: what penalites their parents face for giving them alcohol, and what penalites they face for drinking and then drinking and driving. I really felt I connected with them. For the seniors, we ran out of time, so I just quickly talked through the most important info from the Powerpoint, without showing it on the screen. I had the first 6 rows stand up, which was roughly 114 students. I told them that 114 is the number of teens ages 16-18 who were the drivers in crashes in 2006. Then I had all but the first two rows sit down, which was 31 kids left standing. I told them that 31 was the number of teens ages 16-18 who were the drinking drivers in all fatality crashes in 2006. I feel it was very effective.

I got some really positive feedback from some students who actually approached me when it was over. I also had some teachers come to me and thank me, saying, "Thank you, they really, really needed to hear that. I just wish more people would come speak about it." I guess talking about it isn't for everyone, but this is the best way I could deal with it and come to terms with it.

Later on, Amber from Project CATCh and I went on 106.5 FM to advertise the Town Hall Meeting in Fort White on March 27th. I think it went well. My journey is just beginning, but I think it'll be a rewarding one.