Students need to focus on what matters in their world. Friends matter. Family matters. Grades matter. Decisions matter. Most importantly, teenagers want to feel like they matter.

They want to be invited to the party, noticed in the hallway, and simply included in a conversation. When high school ends, students just want to be remembered. Blake inspires students to leave a positive high school legacy in a way that makes them difficult to forget.

Blake uses live music, storytelling, and appropriate humor to shed a bright light on the ups, downs, and opportunities in high school life. He opens up about his struggles and strong points of secondary school to inspire students to leave their school (and the people in it) better than how they found it. Students leave Blake’s programs with a heightened appreciation of their school, their peers, and themselves.

Blake equips students with fun ways to say thank you and appreciate others in person and online. Students will rethink the significance of their high school life, and the positive impact they can have on peers, teachers, friends, and family along the way.

Learning Outcomes:

• Quality Friendships vs. Quantity Friendships (Online and Offline)
• Getting judged and making that experience powerful rather than painful
• The Social Spectrum: The debate between fitting in and standing out
• Four practical steps to developing a positive reputation that inspires others
• Saying thank you: Making others matter through the power of appreciation

Every aspect of life is in full form on campus. Students get to work, get to play, and get to be passionate about whatever they define as important.

Sadly, some students graduate with regret, wishing they indulged in more aspects of life on campus: The programs they never tried, the places they never went, and the people they never met. Blake empowers students to graduate happy by making the most of their student life.

Based on stories from his book, “The Campus Life Guide,” and his near-decade of work in university residences, Blake transforms his written words into this thought-provoking keynote. Blake uses live music, storytelling, and appropriate humor to provide students with the keys to unlock their full potential in university and ways to inspire their peers to do the same. Blake shows students how to access all of the opportunities available to them on campus and provides tools to immediately implement these examples.

Students leave Blake’s programs with a heightened appreciation of their school, their peers, and themselves. Blake equips students with fun ways to say thank you and appreciate others in person and online. Students will rethink the significance of their student life, and the positive impact they can have on peers, teachers, friends, and family along the way.

Learning Outcomes:

• How to leave a leadership legacy and create positive change on campus
• The 3 success areas of successful university grads
• Maximizing every single tuition dollar by accessing campus resources
• Reducing the risk of failure or dropping out of school
• Strategies for balancing academics and personal life
• How to ask for help when it matters most
• The fool-proof way to graduate feeling satisfied and happy
• Saying thank you: Making others matter through the power of appreciation

The first day is a massive milestone for students. New people. New places. New possibilities. Freshman year is the most exciting time for some and the most terrifying for others.

Blake comes to campus and meets new students at the front door. He flips fears into fascination and turns overwhelming anxiousness into exciting anticipation. Blake speaks to new students in a way that is unforgettable, during a time in their life that they will never forget.

Based on stories from his book, “The Campus Life Guide,” and his near-decade of work in university residences, Blake transforms his written words into this thought-provoking keynote. Blake uses live music, storytelling, and appropriate humor to provide students with a road map to successfully navigate the first year.

Blake inspires students by helping them form meaningful friendships, utilize resources, and gain access to all of the opportunities available on campus. He provides tools to immediately implement these examples.

Learning Outcomes:

• How to form powerful friendships on campus
• Reducing the risk of failure or dropping out of school
• Strategies for balancing academics and personal life
• Maximizing mentorship to achieve student success
• Methods to use every single tuition dollar by accessing campus resources
• How to ask for help when it matters most
• The “3P Pyramid” that will create a successful student life

How do you get the attention of students? Once you do, how do you keep it? Students in your school need to feel like they matter from the start at orientation until the end at graduation.

For nearly a decade, Blake lived and closely worked with thousands of students in a college setting. The conversations that happen in an office are valuable, but living in the same environment as students will teach you so much more. This keynote is filled with Blake’s lessons learned from his front line work with students. He shares strategies, systems, and insights that will help any professional engage students when they first arrive and acknowledge them along the way.

People will walk away with strategies to implement actions of appreciation, recognition, and thoughtfulness into the daily routines of students, staff, and campus partners. Each idea will start a series of actions that let students and staff know how much they matter, essentially creating a more positive campus community for all of its members.

Learning Outcomes:

• The “Engage and Acknowledge” Spectrum
• Developing systems and tools to meaningfully and authentically interact with students
• The 3 motivators for students and leveraging them to get the attention of students
• Approaching work with the student in mind, at all times
• 500 Extra Hours: Generating extra hours in your work week, regardless of your role
• Finding fascination (rather than frustration) in the student world
• Saying thank you: Making others matter through the power of appreciation