ROGERS -- A man who calls himself a "professional teenager" delivered a motivational speech about compassion, hard work and leadership to some Northwest Arkansas high school students Wednesday.
Mike Smith, 32, also got his audience to ponder their legacies and think about specific people at their schools who deserve special recognition.
Armed with a message
Mike Smith has several tattoos. The most important one to him, he said, is on his left arm. It’s a message that reads, “Speak for the silent. Stand for the broken.”
Source: Staff report
At the end of the presentation, Smith -- dressed in a ballcap, black T-shirt and brown pants -- posed for pictures and signed autographs for dozens of admiring students who crowded around him in front of the Heritage High School auditorium stage.
Layne Rogers, a Heritage senior, was excited by Smith's presentation.
"I thought it was awesome," Rogers said. "It really inspired me."
Smith is founder and director of two nonprofit organizations: Skate for Change, which coordinates skateboarders committed to serving low-income and homeless people; and The Bay, an indoor skate park and youth outreach center in Lincoln, Neb.
Heritage High School hosted Smith for one of the 44 stops on his Harbor Back to School Tour, during which he's speaking to thousands of students across the country. The tour is sponsored by Jostens.
Smith's fast-paced talk, peppered with humor and self-deprecation, focused on his own high school experience in a small Nebraska town and how he gradually came to realize his potential to change not only his own life, but the lives of others.
His success in high school sports led Smith to become cocky, arrogant and mean, he told students. During his senior year, however, he met a freshman, "Calvin," who had no friends and was like "a ghost" at school.
Smith admitted he initially treated the boy with disdain, but realized Calvin was similar to what Smith had been years earlier. The two eventually formed a friendship that continues today.
"My senior year I did everything I could to fight for this kid," Smith said.
Smith regretted his initial judgment of Calvin. He told students if they want to be leaders, they must stop being judgmental.
"If you're sitting in here and thinking you're a leader, your job is not just to tell people you're a leader. It's to let people know they have value," he said.
Smith also explained how his basketball coach at Grace University in Omaha, Neb., pointed out to him a bunch of homeless people living under a bridge. Smith took it upon himself to do something to help them.
"At 18 years old, I put my hand out to the first homeless man I met," Smith said. "I said, 'What do you need?'"
Smith learned socks are particularly valuable to the homeless. He went back to his school's athletic department, found a box of new socks, and distributed them to the homeless.
"No one was telling me to do it. I just did it. That's what leadership is about. It's about doing the right thing when no one is looking," he said.
Smith's idea led to Skate for Change, an organization with chapters all over the country that encourages skateboarders to get together and deliver clean socks and non-perishable goods to the homeless. Smith was an avid skateboarder as a youth.
Smith told students he knows many of them like the thought of changing their schools or their communities, but most think they're incapable of it.
"Every one of you guys is capable," he said.
Smith directed the students to break up into groups by school to discuss what their respective schools are known for and what they'd like their schools to be known for. Representatives of each group then went on stage with Smith to share what they had discussed.
Rogers, the Heritage High senior, said Heritage students often are perceived as the underdogs. The school needs to focus on including everyone so no one feels left out, she said.
"We need to bring everyone in. We have a lot of strays," Rogers said.
Students have a chance every day to create the legacy they envision, Smith said.
"Even if you come from a small town like I do, you can go on to do big things," he said.
Heritage Principal Karen Steen, after speaking with Jostens representative Rick Harrell, agreed to host Smith and several other schools invited to Wednesday's event. There were 447 students from Rogers, Mountainburg, West Fork, Huntsville, Fayetteville, Cedarville, Steen said. Students were chosen for the event based on their leadership skills.
Aly Caldwell, 15, a Heritage sophomore, said she enjoyed Smith's appearance. She said she'd like to take part in efforts to bridge gaps between the different racial groups in her school.
"It takes work and persistence," Aly said. "But once everyone gets together, they actually do get along. It's just a matter of getting out of your comfort zone."
NW News on 09/10/2015