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Inspirational Speaker Shares Powerful Insight

Guest speaker Ms. Kelsey Tainsh spoke to students about perseverance, gratitude, and embracing their differences.
Motivational speaker Ms. Kelsey Tainsh spoke with Middle and Upper School students about the importance of perseverance and the power of standing proud and not hiding what makes you different during two powerful assemblies in Petrik Thunderdome. Ms. Tainsh’s impassioned message, "when we change our attitude, we change our perspective," was born from overcoming and embracing her own physical disabilities after recovering from a tumor-induced stroke as a teenager.

She talked about the importance of kindness and empathy. The students in grades 6-12 could imagine what it would be like to return to high school following surgery and physical therapy, as she had to relearn how to speak and walk, returning in a wheelchair. It was a powerful and important message for our students. 

Ms. Tainsh's talk focused on helping students recognize the obstacles they face, and challenging them to find something positive that could come from those experiences. She asked them to step outside their comfort zone to see what they can learn from experiencing failure, and think about how this could make them stronger. "Failure is a part of life," she said. "In order to succeed, we need to fail. [In many experiences,] our failures set us up for success."

Ms. Tainsh's strongest message was for students to identify their differences and learn to embrace and love them. She spoke at length about how our differences define who we are, and the importance of allowing ourselves to open up and share these differences proudly and with confidence. 
"There will be times in life when we won't be able to do things like others do them. But that's okay. We can learn a different way to do them and find success."
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