We’ve witnessed our Tia bloom, from a shy, sometimes struggling with anxieties, little girl, into a confident, beautiful, empowered young woman with a story to proudly tell at 16.
It’s been magical to observe; we’re SO proud of you Tia.
She had told us she wanted to give talks, like her dad, to share HER story, in her perspective -her journey with inclusion, being a young caregiver, sister to Rio, a triathlete (an inclusive athlete & solo athlete), her accomplishments, her Guinness World Record attempt with Rio & her message about inclusion.
Impressed with her initiative, we agreed to assist.
Thank you @kellylundbergofficial for guiding Tia with her brand identity as part of this journey.
With Tia’s lead, we helped develop her presentation.
She practised lots at home, until she knew her content inside out.
She told us when she felt ready to practise to an audience; stipulating she only felt comfortable doing primary (age 10 years & younger) & only to 1 class (25 max) in a classroom setting.
With this, we contacted a few schools, to ask if Tia could practise her presentation with their students.
Last week she did her first ever Impact Talk at @fairgreendubai to a Grade 4 class.
As parents, we were more nervous than Tia; but she had no apparent anxieties, she went in there with confidence & blew us away. She loved the experience & was keen to do more!
This week, 3 more schools embraced Tia; so, she spoke at:
@jpsdubai @vhprimary @dubaienglishspeakingschool 2 schools were to a Year 5 class (25); but 1 school had a whole Year 6 (60 students) ready - we were worried this was out of her comfort zone; so she was given a choice, do 3 classes of 20 separately in a classroom or do 60 together in a hall; she shocked us & chose 60 together in a hall. She was amazing!
THANK YOU to all these schools & students for the opportunity & being a wonderful first audience, asking Tia great questions. Her world suddenly opened & she announced that she felt ready to share her presentation to adults & a larger audience & to even co-present with dad in his talks (Nick may have had wet eyes).
Part 2 of this story on what happened next, is coming in a following post!
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