The 3rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Youth Summit was held at the Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre (HPAC), which was attended by Sullivan County students from grades 11 and 12 on Friday, January 12.

The event saw in attendance 136 students from each of the eight public school districts around the county. The event started with a viewing of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ‘Blueprint for Life Speech’ and ‘The Story of Martin Luther King Jr.’ by Kid President. 

Welcoming students and accompanying adults to the Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre was Amanda Langseder, Managing Director for Sullivan 180.

Students were encouraged to take part in team-building exercises and icebreaker activities, such as building the tallest newspaper tower without communicating with their fellow peers at the same table. This exercise was encouraged under the lesson that communication between one other is a strong foundation for getting along with each other. The towers were measured based on their height and prizes were awarded to the winners.

Following the exercises was the MLK Jr. Day of Service Keynote Speaker Duncan Kirkwood, who is an author, motivational speaker, and MPA Army National Guard Master Resilience Trainer.

Kirkwood’s speech covered aspects of resilience, ego, presence and positive self-talk.

He emphasized that the adversity that one may be dealing with is actually helping to build the fortitude to get where one may want to go. He stated that if one can start changing their mindset to understand “everything I want is possible, but I have to go through the adversity to get there” then one can really get whatever they want.

He recited a saying by James N. Watkins that quotes, “a river doesn’t cut through stone because it is strong, it cuts through stone because it is persistent.”

In his experience, Kirkwood told of the time where he wanted to join a fraternity in college. He was a nervous freshman with a 2.4 GPA and went to an organization fair. He said that he was turned down because his GPA wasn’t ‘3.0 or above’. Even though he took it as rude and disrespectful, he used it as a challenge that next semester he’d work on his grades and over the summer he’d retake courses. 

When he came back the following fall with a 3.1 GPA, he was able to join the frat which he stated was a ‘life-changing’ experience.

“The failures you go through, the setbacks, they’re not here to break you. They’re here to build you,” Kirkwood emphasized to the students.

Following Kirkwood’s inspirational address, students got the chance to speak with a number of “blueprint facilitators.” 

These participants came from a range of backgrounds and described their unique paths towards discovering their “sense of somebodiness.” After the event, connections to “doors of opportunity” were made possible by the numerous agencies and community partners in attendance.

Sullivan 180 is planning and hoping to continue the Martin Luther King Jr. Summit each year to come. They are also planning to have the Warrior Teens Film Series once a month from January to May. This film series, directed at teens, will tackle various issues they may come across in their daily life.