On Thursday, September 21st, all students took part in an assembly called “Inside Out Fitness,” presented by Sam Anthony Lucania, a professional speaker and founder of Sam Anthony Speaks. Sam Anthony Speaks, Lucania’s venture, expands its reach to younger communities by visiting schools internationally and holding speeches.
The assembly discussed the importance of different aspects of fitness for students, including physical, mental, emotional, and social health. Lucania shared his message through compelling storytelling about his experiences growing up while interacting with the audience on topics related to the speech.
“Everybody’s story is unique, there’s things that I’ve been through that other people never have, and [that can] potentially help somebody else,” Lucania said.
Lucania encouraged avoiding risky behavior as a result of an imbalance in fitness. He provided several methods to recovery, such as reaching out to others and finding new interests.
“The hardest part is admitting to myself that I actually have a problem,” Lucania said. “Once you get into recovery, even if you relapse, you’ve already maintained that first step of knowing there’s a problem.”
Additionally, Lucania stressed the importance of understanding your own health to help others in need. Standing up and speaking is crucial for helping many others with their struggles.
“[Students] will relate with a speaker for reasons whether it’s a different personal background: economic status, gender, religion, or race,” Lucania said. “Otherwise, there’s no way for me to reach everybody, everywhere.”
Students were able to learn valuable information in the assembly and have new perspectives on their approach to mental health. After the speech, students had the opportunity to ask questions or have time for a personal one-one-one talk with Lucania.
“The Assembly was powerful, well thought out, [and] he spoke pretty well so it was very informative” sophomore Andrew Zheng said. “I have a better mindset now, [I’m] locked in.”
Lucania’s impact on students is clearly demonstrated through the close relationships he fosters with the audience during the speech. Additionally, Lucania has various social media accounts where he is able to further connect with students anytime.
“Many kids went up to me today to tell me that it was great or they got something out of it, but somebody that sat in the back of this auditorium for whatever reason didn’t connect with me,” Lucania said. “It’s important for everybody to share their story because you’re never going to know who you’re going to relate and connect with.”
