On January 23rd, Rocklin hosted motivational speaker Kevin Bracy, who gave a surprisingly interesting and inspiring speech.

As most students settled in for another long assembly filled with the “same old stuff” that seems to be mentioned in every motivational speech, most students were left pleasantly surprised with the content in the speech.

Bracy opened by teaching everyone a chant that involved clapping, stomping, hand motions and repetition. This was a unique and engaging way to begin the assembly.

His energy was infectious and even as he began to delve into some darker topics from his past, he still kept up his high energy. The gut-wrenching stories he told had students on the edge of their seats.

Growing up in an abusive household, and never truly having a permanent address would ordinarily have extremely negative ramifications on one’s spirit.

However, this was not the case for Kevin Bracy. He spoke of perseverance, and the strength that comes from holding on to your dreams.

“I thought it was really nice because he was encouraging and energetic” says sophomore Ethan Hoffman.

There were many points throughout the presentation where the crowd was inclined to laugh.

Senior Noah Dyson says, “I really liked it because he was funny and you could relate to it.”

The student population truly connected to Bracy, and after his speech was over, a lot of students followed him on social media.

One student even took it as far as to direct message him some words of gratitude.

“What I really got out of your presentation is how I need to stop letting circumstances define my actions. The reality is, I have the opportunity to be great, I just wasn’t using it,” says this anonymous admirer.

The topper to this speech, for almost everyone, was hearing about his daughters job dancing on tour with Beyonce.

He then proceeded to show photos of her next to various celebrities. This made the crowd cheer and laugh and instantly feel jealous.

The main takeaway from this was: if you work hard enough, you will get to go on tour with Beyonce.

All in all, Kevin Bracy gave an extremely inspiring and engaging speech, and the majority of students would love to see him back here again soon.