Last week, First Priority Greater Birmingham teamed up with Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association to reach local middle and high school students with positive messages through free Right Choice School Assemblies. Schools where assemblies were held include: Hoover High, McAdory High, Ramsay High, Moody Jr. High, Oak Mountain Middle, Odenville Middle, Riverchase Middle and Washington Middle. An assembly was scheduled for Calera Middle but due to the threat of severe weather, it was cancelled. Nearly 7,000 students were impacted by last week’s school assemblies.
The assemblies were put on by Motivational Speaker and Hope In Motion Founder Pedro LaTorre, Christian Rap Artist KJ-52 and Entertainer/Dancer Ramon Martinez. Hope in Motion exists to share a message of hope through a presentation that is lathered with music and humor all to set the stage for dynamic story-telling. The presentation covers topics such as: bullying, relationships, sexting, suicide, drugs, loneliness, cutting, anger, hope, respect and more.
Pedro has been speaking to young people for over six years and has a personal story that connects with every student. He shared with students that he comes from a broken home environment and knows what it means to feel alone. He encouraged students not to give up. He shared about several times in his life when he felt discouraged, scared, unsure of his future and alone. He used the example of an elevator. He told students we go through ups and downs, highs and lows throughout life, but we can be who we were created to be. Pedro said there will be uncertain times, just like he experienced. Pedro had a promising professional baseball career at a young age until it was stripped away due to a fatal injury. But, due to the injury, Pedro found what he was really called to do with his life… inspire students with hope through school assemblies. “By partnering with artists who believe in sharing hope, we are able to offer schools a dynamic presentation that is 100 percent guaranteed to cause positive lasting change,” said Pedro. He encouraged students with hope and told them not to give up because they were created special and no matter what they have done or where they come from, they can do anything.