S13/E3: Building relationships to empower youth with Ernesto Mejia

Welcome to Highest Aspirations, an education podcast focused on providing educators with inspiration and strategies to help multilingual learners achieve their highest aspirations. We have a very special guest with us today, the co-founder of CoolSpeak, Ernesto Mejia. Mejia is the proud son of Mexican immigrants, and a true example of the American dream. Diagnosed with the rare disease of Guillain-Barré (ghee-yan bar-ray) Syndrome at the age of 16 that left him temporarily paralyzed, he was not supposed to be a successful student, much less a College Dean of Students. But through his hardships, Mejia learned to never give up on life. He now speaks to students, parents and teachers about overcoming obstacles and never giving up on the American dream of education.  In this episode, we cover the meaning and importance of youth empowerment, the work of his company CoolSpeak, and how we can align programs and speakers we bring into a district with the needs of the audience and goals of the school. Click here to download the ⁠full episode transcript ⁠. To find more podcast episodes and show notes/key takeaways, ⁠⁠visit our podcast resource page.⁠⁠ For additional free resources geared toward supporting English learners, ⁠⁠visit our blog.⁠ To expand your connection within the Ellevation community by join our⁠ ⁠⁠Ellevation Educator Facebook Group.⁠ To learn more about Mejia’s work with CoolSpeak click here.