When It Comes to College Motivational Speakers,
Summer Owens Has What it Takes to Inspire
Student Success

Confidence, Resilience, Success: That’s the S.O. What! Way

Life doesn’t come with an instruction manual. While school and parents do their best, there’s just so much more to learn to get through life— especially when it gets tough.

At every stage of our lives, we face different challenges. From self-awareness to living responsibly, youth and young adults face tremendous challenges to develop into mature, responsible adults. It’s no wonder that many young people feel lost as they navigate through life and do their best making decisions that may help or harm them.

We can’t control who we are, where we are born, or all the circumstances of our lives, but we can control how we respond to them.

My life was turned upside down when I was 15 and became a teenage mother. Despite the odds, I graduated from high school, college, and graduate school with honors, was a student leader, and enjoyed an amazing corporate career all as a young, single mother. In the face of this curveball life threw me, I persevered by saying, “S.O. What!”

I’ve made it my personal mission to help young people achieve success no matter their circumstances too. If you’re looking for a youth, women’s, or college motivational speaker to inspire your students to success in spite of their challenges, then let’s talk.

MY MOTIVATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR:

college-speaker-grid-photo — College Students
Dealing with real life and making choices on the road to adulthood and independence.

Summer and FCHS boys — High School Students
Finding yourself and making plans that can determine or deter the path for your entire life.

Motivational speaker, Summer Owens, embraced by students excited about middle school — Middle School Students
Struggling to fit in and making the transition from being a kid to preparing for high school.

Summer Owens with teen moms — Teen Parents
Figuring out who you are and what you can be while supporting and nurturing a whole other life.

Motivational Speaker Summer Owens speaks at Total Woman Summit — Women/Single Parents
Overcoming challenges, redefining your truth, and breaking internal barriers.

Youth Motivational Speaker2 — Community Groups
Helping youth and young adults-- in or out of school— find themselves, their purpose, and their way.

TESTIMONIALS

“ENGAGING”

“I find Summer’s program timely and relevant. Her topics and presentation style resonate with a college audience and provide applicable strategies that can serve a student for his or her entire educational experience. Her talks are focused and engaging and worth bringing to a campus.”

Dr. Justin LawheadVP Student Affairs

“REAL”

“Summer is the motivational speaker that you dream about for an event. She has a REAL story to share. She is humble, educated, intelligent and kind. And, more importantly, she is prepared. Summer inspires others because she has taken the time to look inward for answers, to seek wisdom beyond her comfort zone and to grow beyond boundaries set by others and even herself. I respect Summer, and when you meet her…you will, too.”

Pamela W. KellyAttorney

“INCREDIBLE”

“It’s not often that a speaker honestly leaves a lasting impression on who you are and changes your perception on, well, everything. I was lucky enough to meet Summer Owens, and she has been making me a stronger person since. She’s incredible and truly has the gift to motivate positive change!”

Tara ScatesStudent, University of Memphis

Youth and Young Adults Can Conquer Anything with a S.O. What! Mindset

As a teenager, I made some bad choices, faced some enormous challenges, and nearly gave up on my dreams…because my life was hard.

So I get it. Sometimes you just want to give up.

My life experiences as a student, a teen mom, a college educator, and mother of a teenager then young adult, helped me to create the S.O. What! Success Formula and the S.O. What! Literacy, Life Skills, and Character Education curriculum where I teach the S.O. What! Mindset that helps youth and young adults face adversity, change, and challenge like a boss.

Simply by learning to say- “SO What!”

No Judgment. No Excuses. Just Results.

S.O. What! Literacy, Life Skills, and Character Education Curriculum

Real life and relevant, the S.O. What! Literacy, Life Skills, and Character Education curriculum uses higher learning standards for English Language Arts to help students improve literacy levels and prepare for life.

When I created the high school life skills curriculum, I designed it to be both an easy-to-implement teaching tool for educators and a wake-up call for students. I used a relatable non-fiction text of my life experiences to create a workbook series that gets students reading, writing, and thinking about their life choices.

Whether it lights a fire or just starts and a necessary, uncomfortable conversation, the S.O. What! Literacy, Life Skills, and Character Education curriculum will get high school students, middle schools, teen parents, and even 5^th graders talking and opening up about what they are feeling and experiencing. Plus, there is even a virtual implementation option for the program.

Let’s talk about how we can bring this powerful program to your school or district.

READING & REAL LIFE

“We are reading Life After Birth right now in my Creative Writing class. Honestly, the book and curriculum have spawned some really great conversations that deal with depression, lack of parental attention or parent neglect, self-esteem, pregnancy, sex, dating, rape, bullying– a big one!”

Crystal Johnson-EvansNorthwest Preparatory Academy

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Why Work With Me?

I have seen too many young people succumb to the challenges in their lives and other create challenges they could have avoided. I want your students to see and believe that can be successful in life no matter what they go through.

Like most students, I faced a lot of challenges growing up. I understand how it feels to be judged and doubted and to even doubt yourself. I know what it’s like to feel tired, overwhelmed, hurt, lost, unsupported, and confused. I know what it’s like to struggle and want to just give up. I could have given up and people would have understood why, but instead, I chose to pursue success in spite of my obstacles.

I learned how to overcome my obstacles, eliminate my excuses, and calculate my choices to achieve the S.O. What! Success I have had in my life.

Real-life experience

From getting pregnant at 15 and still voted Most Likely to Succeed, being a student leader, graduating magna cum laude, earning an MBA, having a successful corporate and entrepreneurial career, and being a single mother…I know what it’s like to face huge challenges without losing sight of success. And the mindset and actions that it takes to get there.

Flexible

My speaking engagements can be tailored to fit your school’s needs. From virtual to in-person, I offer multi-day, full-day and half-day workshops as well as one-time keynotes and programs. My programs are flexible in delivery and in content. I work with you to determine how your students can benefit the most from my message so that they can apply it to their own lives immediately.

Trusted

Being a parent longer than I’ve been an adult, I have learned a lot about caring for a child— no matter how hard it gets. I have that same heart of compassion for and see the potential in any young person that I encounter. My S.O. What! Literacy, Life Skills, and Character Education curriculum has been included in the one of the top five school districts in the country for nearly a decade. Because of my story, I was asked to create a college life skills and change management course that filled quickly and students rarely missed. My work has been featured nationally and internationally, and I have received lots of awards and recognition. But my greatest reward is the impact I’ve seen in the lives of the students I’m honored to serve.

Let’s talk about how I can serve your students too.