GEAR UP Granite Hosts CoolSpeak Founder
Around 3,350 students were inspired by the personal stories of Carlos Ojeda in early October when he visited 11th grade students in the GEAR UP program. Five Granite School District high schools hosted him and heard about the challenges that he had to overcome as a youth. and lessons learned along the way.
Carlos Ojeda Jr, founder and CEO of CoolSpeak, told his story at five high schools.
Hearing Carlos story gave students hope and the knowledge that they have worth.
Students wanted to have selfies taken with Ojeda.
Staff benefited from small group professional development training with Ojeda.
As students filed into the auditorium of their schools, they didn’t know that the story and experience they would hear might change their life, from this point forward. As one student put it, "It was really inspiring. It even made me cry a little bit and it helped me a lot with what I'm going through right now."
Carlos Ojeda Jr., CoolSpeak founder and CEO, talked about his childhood. How after witnessing a murder at age 10, his family moved him from New Jersey to Reading, PA. There he was wrongly placed in a bilingual classroom. This made going to school difficult, and he admits to meeting those challenges both successfully and unsuccessfully. Quoting Dr. Juan Andrade, founder of the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute, he said he took control of his circumstances and didn’t allow himself to become a victim to those circumstances, despite having created them himself.
“It was very beautiful,” said a student participant. “It was motivating and made me feel like I am not what other people say that I am. I can make it in life." Another student added that “This presentation truly moved me. I am speechless. I really, truly felt seen. I am never ever going to forget this moment. I feel like I can do anything, like I'm not stuck anymore."
Ojeda went on to tell of how, with the encouragement of a counselor at his school, he was able to graduate from both high school and college. Education allowed him to become a college administrator, and eventually the owner of a multi-million dollar company. He also talked about his deafness and the challenges associated with this disability. Talking about his parents, he recognized the sacrifice they made for him and the love his wished he could have given his father before he passed away.
"Carlos gave our students hope and the knowledge that they were important and had worth,” said Monique Squire, program coordinator of Grant 4 in the Granite School District GEAR UP Program. “There was great motivation to make something of themselves, despite their circumstances.”
"I thought about how I'm going to proceed in life,” said one student. “I'm not sure what I want to do, but I know I'm gonna do great things one day!" The call to action was just what many of our students needed. “I thought about going to the GEAR UP office and discussing what I should do after high school," said a student. Another student simply said "I want to graduate high school," while a different student added that they wanted to make "my parents proud and buy them a house."
Ojeda was well received by students and staff alike, even receiving a standing ovation after his talk to students at Taylorsville High School. While in Utah, he also visited Hunter, Cottonwood, Granger, and Kearns High Schools, where he presented to large groups, leadership teams, and at-risk groups, as well as providing professional development for educational staff at Grant 4 schools.
Ojeda and the CoolSpeak team will be back in Utah in 2023 to work with students on college essay and scholarship writing workshops, work with small groups, and other activities. Watch for more information and a schedule.