This year, motivational speaker and Verona resident Scott Chesney has been working with the freshman class at Verona High School on a program to help them learn how to set and realize their goals while managing the emotions of teenage life.
February 10 was the second meeting of the “The Journey of Self-Discovery” program. Working with Dana Lustig, the student assistance coordinator at VHS, Chesney checked in with the class of 2014 to see where they stood with the personal and academic goals they had set when the program started September. He stressed to the students that they must hold themselves accountable for achieving their goals and told them that most people don’t fail at achieving their goals, they quit on them.
Chesney then talked to students about positive ways to manage their emotions, and about how to use healthy forms of expression as a release for emotions rather than bottling them up. He told students about the program’s inspiration, Dave Musikant, who passed away from brain cancer nearly seven years ago. (Chesney’s program is sponsored by the Positive For Life Foundation, set up in Musikant’s honor.) Before and after being diagnosed with cancer, Musikant lived his life to the fullest, and strove to be grateful for every experience that came into his life. Chesney shared with the students Musikant’s belief in creative visualization and and how that could help them achieve their goals. He also stressed the importance of “turning failure into feedback,” and reminded the students that every life experience is filled with powerful messages and lessons.
Lustig will be working with the Freshman Seminar teachers at VHS to support Chesney’s program and the Positive For Life Foundation. Chesney will be back to meet with students on May 10.
