Robert Hackenson Jr., a professional speaker and founder of Dynamic Influence, brings students on stage for an interactive activity during Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth’s conference, “Building Leaders for a Better Future.” (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth)
WAKEFIELD — Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY) hosted an in-person conference for students, “Building Leaders for a Better Future,” on March 27 at Worcester Technical School.
Over 160 students and advisors from middle schools across 11 districts attended the conference.
“Edutainer” Robert Hackenson Jr. and mental health empowerment speaker Ivy Watts spoke with participants about leadership strategies. They guided discussions focused on developing effective leadership skills, increasing mental wellness, promoting healthy life choices and building confidence and resiliency.
The conference opened with a video message from Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr., who spoke about the importance of student leadership. He encouraged students to bring his message back to their schools and teach their peers that kindness never goes out of style.
Hackenson then addressed students with his signature presenting style that combines life lessons with magic tricks. He shared the realities and challenges of being a leader, and provided students with tips to overcome these obstacles.
Since 2004, Hackenson has delivered interactive and engaging seminars through his organization, Dynamic Influence. Hackenson’s “edutainer” approach incorporates magic and hypnotism tricks into his educational lectures and trainings. He has shared his unique presentations with schools and corporations across America and Canada.
Watts, founder of Ivy Watts Speaks, shared her story of the mental health struggles she experienced as an All-American student-athlete and Top 30 NCAA Woman of the Year Finalist. She spoke about the anxiety, burnout and self-doubt she dealt with despite appearing successful and confident to outsiders. She explained her healing journey and taught students hands-on self care tools to increase mental wellness, self-love, confidence and resiliency.
Watts has shared her story with over 200,000 corporate professionals, students and coaches through keynotes, workshops and somatic coaching. Watts, who is Mental Health First Aid Certified, is also a published author and the founder of the blog, “Beautifully Simply You.”
Participants said they appreciated the new perspectives they gained from the speakers.
“A moment that made me think differently about my life and my future was when Rob Hackenson talked about how whenever we say ‘you only live once,’ it means we’re about to do something stupid,” said one student who attended the conference. “But being leaders, shouldn’t ‘you only live once’ be the reason you make the smart and responsible decision?”
“Be curious, not judgmental,” said an advisor who attended. “When we think we know everything, that’s when we judge others. Whatever you say after ‘I am’ is what you become.”
About the Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth, Inc.
Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides training, fosters collaboration and develops programming to increase the health and safety of students. MPY is committed to bringing cutting-edge information and high-quality trainings to constituents and endeavors to provide solution-oriented, community-based, multi-disciplinary approaches to reducing and ideally eliminating risky behaviors for youth. MPY programming reaches nearly 6,000 educators per year in Massachusetts, spread across approximately 300 districts, with more than 190 webinars and over a dozen conferences and seminars.
Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth is governed by a Board of Directors made up of school superintendents, police and fire chiefs, and other community leaders who work closely with MPY staff to deliver this mission. To learn more, visit: massachusettspartnershipsforyouth.com.
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Ivy Watts, a mental health empowerment speaker and founder of Ivy Speaks, hands a microphone to a student during the conference. (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth)
