We recently had the privilege of having Shari at our
school to conduct both a leadership seminar and an All
School Assembly.
Shari’s presentations in both sessions were excellent. She
emphasized that everyone needs acceptance, love and a
purpose or meaning in life. She also encouraged each of
our student leaders to be someone who cares, especially
for the least of these. The examples used served to illustrate
that one person can make a difference... Not only is
Shari an effective communicator, but the power of her
personal story makes the message even more poignant.
Her audience cannot help but be touched by the fact
that she has and is actually “walking her talk."
Dr. Linda K. Smith, Principal Ron Franklin, Assistant Principal W.F. West High School, Chehalis, Washington
I just wanted to let you know how moved I was by
your life story and to tell you that because of your
story I’m more motivated to succeed in life. What you
do is great and I hope you continue to speak! One person
really does make a difference.
Lindsey Mager, Student New Jersey DECA Leadership
Assemblies: All School Assemblies, Conferences and
Small Group Workshops
Shari held the heats of 1500 students
in the palm of her hand. Because of the message that Shari shared,
students found a new spark flickering in the darkest parts of their
hearts. That spark was rekindled faith and hope that they could find a
positive way to finish school. *Bob Arkfeld, Assistant Principal, Marcos De Niza High School,
Tempe, AZ
Keynote: Stumbling Blocks To Stepping Stones
Shari’s keynote
presentation is a journey through her experiences as a learning disabled
child and “at risk” youth. At times side splittingly funny and other time
poignant and moving, Shari offers insight to all students about how to
overcome adversity and achieve your potential.
Special Emphasis Presentations:
Don’t Die
To Be Accepted Live To Make a Difference
In a world where
what you look like is often deemed more important than effort,
intelligence or courage it is easy to think being accepted is worth
compromising yourself. Peppered with anecdotes from her life story and
other inspirational content, Shari challenges students to consider what
they would be willing to give up to gain acceptance and what price is too
high to be in the “in crowd”. Addiction, Suicide and other reckless
behaviors and the consequences of these actions are discussed in this
powerful presentation.
Decisions That Last A Lifetime
In a world where popularity often hinges on what you wear or the group that
you hang out with it is easy to loose sight of what your values are. In an
effort to “fit in” sound decision making is often replaced with reckless
behavior. Decisions That Last A Lifetime is a roller-coaster ride of
laughter and poignant moments as students are challenged to consider how
their decisions, big and small, leave a lasting impression and legacy,
telling the world who they really are and what they believe. Participants
will learn strategies for developing decision making skills that reflect,
courage commitment and character through will be inspired to re-evaluate the
direction of their lives.
Not To Far From Here
Students often say they want to make a difference in the world. Some
individuals get involved in making a difference by improving their school
through a school clean-up or serving the community by hosting a canned
food drive. In her assembly “Not Too Far From Here” Shari offers a way to
make a difference in one simple ways such as: knowing the names of those
that go to school with you or reaching out to someone sitting alone at a
lunch table. There is no need to go far to touch someone’s life and you
don’t have to hold a special title to meet people where they need. Shari
challenges students to begin now because there are people waiting “not too
far from here”. Students will leave this assembly inspired and challenged
to make a difference in their school and community.
"Getting" Your Education
Research shows that young people without at least a high school education
are more likely to become parents at an early age, have children out of
wed-lock, live in poverty, spend anywhere from one to ten years on welfare
and social assistance, and if employed, work in un-satisfying jobs. Even
more interesting is that in most cases poverty and a lack of education is
“generational“; passed along from parent to child. It is clear that no
program designed to assist young people in reducing teen pregnancy, drug
abuse or violence can be successful without including a strong emphasis on
education to enable students to move out of the realm of being "at risk".
Labeled "at risk" educationally and personally, but inspired by her
mother's hope that her daughters would have a better life, Shari fought to
succeed and became the first person in her family to not only graduate
from college, but also earn a masters degree. Shari Rusch has spent all of
her professional career working with, and studying the issues associated
with, "at risk" students. This special emphasis presentation is an
opportunity to illustrate the value of education and provide an
opportunity for students to understand how to develop alternative
strategies for success in the classroom, how to advocate for themselves
educationally and professionally, and how to transfer skills from their
personal lives to the classroom and working world to achieve success.
