The class of 2017 at Vista del Lago may be a little different from now on; the freshmen had the opportunity to learn about a new lifestyle from guest speaker Kevin Bracy during the week of April 22.

In his talk, Bracy introduced the “Each1Reach1” movement, which focuses on each student reaching out to one another for empowerment and the elimination of bullying.

Bracy prescribed the freshmen to chase their wildest dreams, wake up every morning grateful for something, find their inner greatness, be better than they were the day before and make healthy decisions. Along with his daily instructions for a healthier, happier campus, Bracy also proposed a “Play of the Day” for each day of the school week as part of the “Each1Reach1” movement.

For example, Monday is “Make a Difference Mondays,” where students are responsible for creating positive outcomes to situations.

“Text2Empower Tuesdays” encourage students to send empowering text messages to one another while “Win the Day Wednesdays” focuses on advocating for the isolated and the bullied by reaching out to someone and learning something new about them.

“Live the Change Thursday” has students commit to eat with someone new at lunch, while Fridays has students influencing those around them to make healthy choices, such as being tobacco-free and drinking more water for “Healthy and Happy Friday.”

Vista aims to carry out the “Each1Reach1” movement with support from the administration and action from the students.

When asked how he will incorporate what he learned from the presentation into his daily life, freshman William Fitzpatrick said, “I’ll try to use the “Plays of the Day” everyday.”

Lori Emmington, vice principal at Vista del Lago, was responsible for organizing this presentation for the freshman class. She explained that Bracy had spoken at Vista before, and she wanted him to come back because, “He really had a big impact on our students … his message and the way he delivered it really resonated with our students.”

Bracy encouraged the student body to make his presentation more than just an advisory lesson and truly implement this movement not only at school, but in everyday life.

Freshman Cassidy Merlo said her favorite part of the presentation was, “When we gathered in a big circle and I realized that so many other people are going through the same situations we are.”

Of course, there will be some challenges the school will go through while implementing the movement. “We get so busy that we forget about it. I want to keep that momentum going,” said Emmington.

Bracy says the key to spreading this movement on campus is “activation.” He also offered his advice on reaching out to the toughest kids, saying, “Learn more about each other, find out each other’s backgrounds.”

Bracy plans to visit Vista again to see the effect his “Each1Reach1” movement has had our campus. He hopes to see “More students aware, speaking, greeting, helping one another.”

He wants Vista students to know, “You have the power to create change if you are willing to reach out to one person at a time.”