Today an extraordinary young man by the name of Cameron Clapp visited MHS and presented his life story to our students. As the picture shows, Cameron is a triple amputee. A 23-year-old native of California, his life was forever changed in September 2001 when he was struck by a train not too far from his home. Integral to this story is the fact that he was intoxicated when it happened, so much to the degree that he was barely coherent to his surroundings when it happened.Cameron has made much of his life since the tragic event of eight years ago. To say that he has come back with many normal functions would be an understatement. In fact, he has been recognized as an outstanding track and field athlete as he has competed in the annual Endeavor Games as well as several triathalons. He is also an aspiring actor, as he has recently landed roles in the 2008 feature film, Stop Loss, and the NBC TV series, My Name is Earl.
As a motivational speaker, Cameron is frank in talking about the bad decisions he made as a 15-year old t
hat led to his present disability. He pointed out how getting involved with substances to "improve" his social life in actuality stopped him from pursuing his passions: running, surfing, extreme sports, etc. In quite a bit of detail and aided by an outstanding multimedia presentation, he documented for all of us his road to recovery and his raw determination to walk, and yes, even run again. Throughout the presentation, he interwove recurring themes for our students: establish a vision of what you want, set goals to reach that vision, work hard, persevere, battle through adversity, and always pursue your passions. He underscored the fact that drugs and alcohol will always subvert you from achieving your goals and true passions in life. He reiterated several times through the presentation what I believe was his theme: It's not about what happens to you in life..... it's about what you do with it.
hat led to his present disability. He pointed out how getting involved with substances to "improve" his social life in actuality stopped him from pursuing his passions: running, surfing, extreme sports, etc. In quite a bit of detail and aided by an outstanding multimedia presentation, he documented for all of us his road to recovery and his raw determination to walk, and yes, even run again. Throughout the presentation, he interwove recurring themes for our students: establish a vision of what you want, set goals to reach that vision, work hard, persevere, battle through adversity, and always pursue your passions. He underscored the fact that drugs and alcohol will always subvert you from achieving your goals and true passions in life. He reiterated several times through the presentation what I believe was his theme: It's not about what happens to you in life..... it's about what you do with it.Cameron's message today was overwhelmingly positive and it really resonated with our students. In fact, he signed autographs and connected with kids in the cafeteria during lunch after the assemblies. I strongly believe that we need to keep his message- about positive decision-making- consistently in the forefront of our kids' minds.
For more information about Cameron, here is a link to his website. He will also be part of the panel that will present during the Intevention Town Hall Meeting this coming Thursday night at Showcase Live at Patriot Place at 6:00 pm (see below). I urge all of you to come to this meeting to see this thoughtful young man. Thanks, Cameron!
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