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Health & Fitness

Diversity Club Speaker Brings Meaningful Messages to Upper School Students

The Upper School welcomed guest speaker Dr. Michael Fowlin to campus this week as part of the school’s Diversity initiatives. An actor, psychologist and poet, Dr. Fowlin leads programs across the country and abroad on the issues of race, discrimination, violence prevention and personal identity. His presentations focus not only on awareness, but also on solutions.

The event was arranged by Ranney’s student-led Diversity Club, a group of approximately 30 Upper School students that strive to help teens discuss tough issues and make wise choices. Faculty members Dr. Nicole Martone, Mrs. Marie Curry and Mr. Mark DiGiovanni serve as advisors to the club.

Dr. Fowlin’s 75-minute performance involved him taking on several personas to make points about tough and sometimes controversial issues, including weight, sexuality, depression, abuse, racism, religious intolerance, bullying and poverty. Using examples that directly relate to high school students, such as social media gossip, academic pressures, hallway interactions and cafeteria clicks, Dr. Fowlin shared his own experiences of having gone to high school in Toms River, NJ, and used a variety of life lessons to call on students to self-reflect and to act. He challenged them to do one small thing each day that can make others’ lives better—even if that action is a simple smile at a stranger. And he invited students to acknowledge their own individual beauty as well as the importance of the “now.” A few key messages shared by Dr. Fowlin:

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 - “You can only be successful in life when you know the difference between the things you are supposed to do and the things you need to do.”
 - “You can only see the solution when you see your role in the problem.”
 - “The magic of being young is being able to process the world around you.”
 - “You think your best friends may know you … but they really only know everything about you that you let them see. If you are going to be real with anyone, be real with your friends.”
 - “No matter where you go to college or how much money you make, try to make people feel better after meeting you, than before meeting you. Otherwise, your life is meaningless.”
 - “The physical presentation of a person is not always who they are.”
 - “If we’ve learned anything after incidents like Newtown, CT, it’s that we are not guaranteed a future…. If you are not enjoying your life right now, you are missing out on your life, period.”


Dr. Fowlin also shared the results of a survey of 50 elderly individuals who were asked to share what they would have done differently in life. Their responses: reflect more; risk more (in terms of speaking up when you see something wrong); and do more things that will live on after you’re gone.

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The students in the audience were greatly moved by Dr. Fowlin’s program, which brought out laughter as well as moments of melancholy. Students formed a large line after the program to speak one-on-one with the motivational speaker.

“He was overwhelmingly personal about his own life and experiences. It made the presentation that much better,” said Diversity Club Member Caitlin Mullally’15 (Red Bank).

Added George Timmins ’15 (Old Bridge), also a Diversity Club member, “The presentation was life changing. It’s interesting how the mix between seriousness and comedy made the presentation more effective."

“He pointed out things in a way we never saw before,” said Diversity Club Member Sarah Klein ’16 (Little Silver). “We looked at things we normally see but never really SEE them."

Two years ago, Upper School students and faculty members in the Diversity Club spent three days in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for a Student Diversity Leadership Conference and People of Color Conference. Hosted by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the inclusive student-leadership workshop focused on inclusion, tolerance and respect for diversity. This coming December, the Diversity Club members will be traveling to National Harbor, Maryland, to participate in NAIS’ 2013 diversity and leadership conference. With Washington, DC, as the conference’s backdrop, this year’s theme is “A Capitol’s Mosaic: Independent School Leaders Building an Interconnected World.” Typically, more than 1,500 students—ranging grades nine through 12—from independent schools across the United States as well as other countries attend the annual workshop.

“Dr. Fowlin's presentation is the first of what we hope will be many activities presented by our club this year,” said the Diversity Club advisors. “We have been trying to bring him to campus for almost two years and were thrilled to have him here today. Dr. Fowlin's speech was moving, raw, hilarious, and spoke to issues we should all keep in the forefronts of or minds.”

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