Mental Health / Mental Strength – It’s OK to tell someone, to talk about what you are going through. Seeking health is a strength, not a weakness. Ryan combines the characteristics of people who are mentally healthy with his personal life and how they have played an important part in his life. He will provide the students with what they need to be mentally strong.
• What is good mental health?
1. The ability to learn.
2. The ability to feel, express and manage a range of positive and negative emotions.
3. The ability to form and maintain good relationships with others.
4. The ability to cope with and manage change and uncertainty.
Suicide Prevention - If we can understand the issues concerning suicide and mental health, this is the most important way to take part in suicide prevention, helping others in crisis, and changing the conversation around suicide. Ryan uses his Military training to focus on the importance of teamwork and the buddy system.
• Knowing the warning signs.
1. Talking about feeling hopeless or having no reason to live.
2. Talking about being a burden to others.
3. Sleeping too little or too much.
4. Withdrawing or isolating themselves.
5. Extreme mood swings.
The other Speaking / Teaching Topics Ryan offers are:
- Freedom of Speech
- Living Drug Free
- Discipline
- Teamwork
- Physical Strength
- Pride
- Communication
- Service
- Leadership
Ryan, before the chaos of the weekend and opening week gets the best of me, I wanted to personally reach out and thank you for an incredible keynote at Tompkins Cortland this afternoon. I had multiple students stop me to share that they were moved, including a Veteran who had heard your songs! I also had a father of a student stop to tell me that he was so touched he began to cry and thanked me several times for including you in our schedule, he said you also talked to him for quite some time and appreciated the conversation. Our college President shared kind words as well and said the messaging was perfect for our students. Those were just a few highlights of many. I know that your presence had an impact with students and beyond and felt compelled to share the sentiment.
From the perspective of a Student Activities professional, I highly appreciated your communication, prompt arrival for sound check (and patience for our equipment), and professionalism throughout the day. I knew from APCA that your keynote would be excellent, but was even more impressed by your ability to go with the flow during a hectic day. - Cheyenne Gorton, Director of Student Activities and the Student Center, Tompkins Cortland Community College, Dryden, NY (Cheyenne Gorton - CMG033@tompkinscortland.edu)
Everything went great with Ryan!! He was very energetic, friendly, personable, emotional, and I think his story resonated with every single person in the room. I received lots of comments about bringing him back to the campus so I'm sure that opportunity will lend itself somewhere in the future! He took time before and after his show to speak to students and staff. I connected with him multiple times before the show, and he also talked with Donna. He arrived about an hour and a half before the show and met with our IT department to confirm all his needs and did a few practice runs. He was very easy to work!! The students who were present loved him. He connected really nicely with our one student who sang the National Anthem and spent time chatting with him about his journey. He will be at Penn State Altoona tonight and one of the attendees yesterday has a son there. She texted her son to make sure he goes to the show this evening and brings his friends! - Lisa D. DeGregorio, Veterans Certifying Official, Student Life Office, Penn State University, Mont Alto, PA
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