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Me in Joplin was No Accident and No Coincidence

As with every invitation I receive to speak, I am honored and excited.

I love sharing my story because I have been so blessed to see audiences light up when I share it. And it feels amazing to see people line up to talk to me afterwards.

My trip to Joplin was no different, but in a big way it was.

The ASPIRE scholarship program for single mothers asked me to speak at their annual scholarship dinner. They chose my speech, The Power of the Struggle, and I was ready to deliver it to this group of amazing women who I knew that I could relate to so well.

 

Trip tp Joplin: SONY DSC

When I saw that the request was from Joplin, I remembered the devastating tornado that had destroyed the city a few years ago.

 

I thought that would be a fitting tie-in to understanding the struggle and dealing with unexpected, life-altering situations.
Trip to Joplin: SONY DSC
As I sat in the Memphis airport reviewing my speech before boarding, I decided to look up the tornado that hit Joplin. My jaw dropped when I saw that the date the storm hit was May 22, 2011.
Trip to Joplin: SONY DSC
I opened my speech, “On May 22, 1979 I was born.

On May 22, 1994, I got pregnant by someone I did not know and did not consent to have sex with. On May 22, 2011 this community experienced a storm that still impacts many of you today.

One of the single mothers had lost her fiance in the tornado while she was pregnant. There were countless other stories of tragedy and triumph, just like my story. Overcoming obstacles, surviving the storm, growing stronger in the struggle, and seeing the beauty after the devastation.

I am grateful to Bryan and Leticia Vowels for their love and compassion for others and for starting the ASPIRE scholarship which is changing lives for generations to come.
ASPIRE Joplin Founders
https://pr.uustoughtonma.org/d.js

 

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I’m Summer Owens, and my passion is helping youth and young adults realize success no matter what obstacles they face. As an international resilience and leadership keynote speaker, author, S.O. What! Success Coach, and creator of the S.O. What! Literacy, Life Skills, and Character Education curriculum, I empower people to say, “So what!” to even their greatest challenges.  provide a framework to help people see past their challenges and focus on solutions using the S.O. What! Success System (Overcome Obstacles + Eliminate Excuses + Calculate Choices = S.O. What! Success). Through keynotes, workshops, books, online courses, and workbooks, I use life’s challenges and my own story of resilience as a rape survivor and teen mom success story to help others confidently pursue their dreams.

Looking for an inspiring college motivational speaker? A high school literacy curriculum? A middle school life skills workbook? A great example for teen mothers? A women’s empowerment or single mother’s conference speaker?  I’m your girl and will help any audience say, “S.O. What!”.

 

www.SummerOwens.com