SUCCESS STORIES

What People Say

Grant Senchuk
Parent

I think this is the most profound experience I have ever shared with my daughter. When I arrived to attend the mandatory parent meeting I kept thinking to myself, mandatory

Parent meeting? What went on here that they need to have a meeting with the parents? I was directed to a hall with the other parents

to wait for this meeting to start. I kept thinking to myself, why all the secrecy? I admit I was nervous. Finally the Empowering Minds™ Team Trainer arrived to announce that from the time the teens got off the bus they immediately took them out of their comfort zone. They told us the difference between this training and other training of this nature. This training was no cuddle festival, they allowed the students to fail at their challenges, and if they failed they got to keep at it till they succeeded. With that all parents received some letters that our children wrote as they were going through this training. When I reflect on the Graduation ceremony, I think of it as life changing. We as Parents were ushered into the graduation room, the teens standing on the perimeter of the room. I, like every other parent there was looking for my daughter. Finally I spot her; she doesn’t look too much worse for wear (I can start to relax). I watch as the students clap and cheer for their peers, amazed and moved, as every teen completes the task. Once completed the students were invited to share with the group their feelings about this experience. Teen after teen got up and conveyed how amazed they were at the experience they had just had, and empowered they felt how much they appreciated their own lives and futures. I was taken back to the days of kindergarten, when my daughter was so excited every day with the new thing that she had learned. It was very obvious that what all of these children had learned on this occasion had brought back this enthusiasm, absolutely life changing! The parent sharing session was every bit as moving, it hits home for me how much we depend on and love our children. In closing, I just want to say thank you to Empowering Minds™ you are amazing people!

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Rob Jewan
National Sports School (previously John G. Diefenbaker)

My name is Rob Jewan I am currently the Assistant Principal at the National Sport School in Calgary. I was formally the Assistant Principal/Leadership teacher at John G. Diefenbaker High School.
I have been involved with Empowering Minds

since 2007 while I was at Diefenbaker. During the first

year we put through nearly 100 students and over the past years hundreds of students from the school have had the opportunity to experience the power of the Empowering Minds program. I have had the opportunity to work with the driving forces of the program and seen it grow from just a vision to the outstanding, impactful program it is today.
The program has influenced students, families and friends and has influenced many students to reach their full potential. Teachers have seen changes in students’ attitudes and behaviours and attitudes long after the weekend course.
Students have become more responsible, confident and accepting and this has been shown in the student’s daily lives. They believe in themselves, show improvements in school work and have become better citizens in the school community.
I have had the opportunity to see the benefits of the program not only as an educator but as a parent. Empowering Minds gives students the confidence to reach their full potential and focus on what is important without all of the daily distractions.
The Empowering Minds program brings many benefits to your students and your school culture. Students develop more confidence in themselves and become motivated to achieve at a higher level. The students bring back what they have learned and change the culture of your classroom showing how positive attitudes and relationships lead to a better environment to learn.
As with any off campus program it does bring extra work to the teacher that is responsible for advertising, recruitment, paper work and supervision but the benefits out way the work. The changes that I have seen in students’ lives make the work more than worth it. The benefits for the students, parents, siblings, and the school have been amazing to witness.
There are many programs and course out there for students and educators to try. The way in which Empowering Minds has developed and delivers the program is very effective and teaches the students so much in a short period of time.

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Ken Chee
Central Memorial High School March 2015

Empowering Minds has instilled in my students a strong sense of personal leadership and a humble confidence that comes from realizing positive individual growth. Graduates of Empowering Minds have gone on to better themselves, their friends, their families, their school and beyond. They realize that to make a
difference, they must not only talk about change, they must be the agents of change; even when the change, is in oneself.

My school had experienced a sea change – the kind that transforms a culture- from the hundreds of students who graduated from the Empowering Minds Leadership Training. Their willingness to step forward and take ownership for making Central Memorial a better place was amazing to witness. Student leadership and student participation blossomed under the energy and imagination that was released when students were shown what they were truly capable of – but did not realize until their potential was seen and released through the reflective and enlightening processes found in Empowering Minds. Their world expanded beyond the self to encompass an awareness and an acceptance of others. This greater sense of community was crucial to our positive shift in spirit and culture.

As an administrator and mentor for Students’ Council, I was very pleased with the numbers of students who stepped forward to lead and to volunteer. However –some of the biggest ‘wins’ occurred out of the spotlight of school events and assemblies. Very personal and individual changes in students were the ones that touched my heart the most. The quiet student who kept to himself for two years – volunteering to help with athletics and then returning in the role for many years after graduation; another who found the confidence to pursue a dream; and yet another who became more resilient and a self-advocate. I refer to this self-realization as personal leadership and it is one of the outcomes of Empowering Minds.

As an adult graduate of Empowering Minds Training, I can attest to the difference it can make to one’s personal outlook and energy. As a teacher and administrator I have witnessed the positive difference it can make in my students and my school. The EM Experience is meaningful and fulfilling. I hope it spreads throughout Alberta and beyond.
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Madoloin Le

It is a powerful experience which will help me achieve skills and qualities that I hve never had before or was weak at/with. It helped me confront my biggest fears and make me feel strong and confident for who I am and I want to become.

Aashna Sharan

This course pushed me further out of my comfort zone than any other course. I am able to break free from whatever may be holding me back from reaching my true potential.

Katherine Smith

I have for the very first time began to find myself. This course has helped me break down my walls of insecurity and gain lessons that I can and will use for my entire life.

Lives We've Touched

Melissa Allan shared her story through a song. Working closely with Melissa, Empowering Minds helped produce her first music video so she could tell the world her experience with the Teen Leadership Breakthrough program.