Jessie Funk will speak about bullying at three Carbon Elementary Schools the week of March 7.
Funk has thrilled audiences across the land with some of her insights into youth. She has generally spoken to teenage audiences in high schools but is now carrying her message to elementary schools.
“I think we are lucky to get her,” said Terrie Cox, a third grade teacher at Creekview Elementary and the person who arranged for her trip to Carbon County through a grant from the Utah Anti-Bullying Coalition. “You have no idea how grateful I am that she is going to be coming to our school. The whole process of playing phone tag and all only took me less than three weeks.”
Some of Funk’s impressive credentials include: author of “Frisbee Face, A Teen’s Guide to Greatness,” a performer for Dick Cheney, Donny Osmond and Maureen McGovern, the founder and executive director of the non-profit The Ivy Girl Academy, a confidence and leadership training program for young ladies, and featured performer as a world class singing voice on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser.”
Her message states that kids should hang around with other kids who make them better and that they should avoid “toxic” people. She also thinks that people should be empowered to act against people who are mean.
Funk has been teaching and mentoring students for over a decade. She holds a leadership certification from Notre Dame University and a degree in psychology. Along with her work at The Ivy Girl Academy she has authored six books, and as a professional singer she has released five albums adding the dynamic element of music to her presentations.
Her schedule in Carbon County includes a March 7 appearance at Wellington Elementary at 10 a.m. Then on Thursday, March 10 she will speak to students at Creekview Elementary at 8:30 a.m. and then again to students at Bruin Point Elementary in East Carbon at 1 p.m.
“I wanted her here to speak to my kids because the message she brings to our schools is just what I have said to my kids for years as I have taught,” said Cox. “There are kids in our classrooms that need to hear and believe that they are wonderful human beings, that they have a great deal to offer and that being a bully or a victim isn’t the way to live their lives. It all boils down to the choices that we all can make. We can overcome. Her message is one of empowerment and of hope.”