Page 12 - voices-09-2021

COVER STORY

I am proud enough to think that maybe I know that there’s a generation that’s dying now

when I speak, someone will be inspired and and their stories should be told.
motivated. Most of my speeches, I try to have And . . . I like having the trophies. One of
a call to action. I really want people to see that the first things that got me involved was the
there’s good in humanity. Sometimes it’s not realization that I could win trophies. I’d never

always easy to see that. And my championship heard of that. I’m as athletic as a one-armed snail,
speech about my mother coming to America. okay? I’m never, ever gonna win a trophy. And

It’s a true story. I didn’t learn all of it until that I didn’t think there were trophies for any other
same year from one of my mother’s last living sports, right? That was it. And when someone

relatives. She never got to hear the whole story, told me you could win a trophy for talking, I’m
but she knew I was working on Long before she like, I’m all in! I like the decorations, okay?
died in 1994, there was a desire to share because
Final question. For the next generation,

what advice would you like to leave them
with?
I know that a lot of young people (I
was one of them) feel really helpless to

impact the world. I want them to look at
Greta Thunberg, you know, the goddess
of climate change. And think that if you
had the ability to speak like her—which

could be from Toastmasters—if you had
the ability to address people, as well as she
does, you could motivate the world to a
much better place as well. .

12 ONE COMMUNITY