Kristina Kuzmic

In this heartfelt and inspiring session, Kristina Kuzmič, bestselling author of Hold On, But Don’t Hold Still and I Can Fix This (And Other Lies I Told Myself While Parenting My Struggling Child), shares her emotionally raw journey of parenting a teenager through significant mental health struggles. With vulnerability, unflinching honesty, and her signature touch of humor, Kristina candidly reflects on the mistakes she made and the powerful lessons she learned to better support her son while also prioritizing her own well-being.

This session provides valuable guidance to educators, parents, and school staff on navigating the complexities of supporting children and families in crisis, breaking down stigma, and fostering a nurturing, compassionate space for growth, resilience, and healing.

Learning Outcomes:

• Choosing curiosity over assumption: How to get a student to open up instead of shut down.
• Consequence vs Help: Navigating mental health struggles that manifest as harmful behaviors.
• Shifting from control to connection: Discover how to support youth through mental health struggles without leading from a place of fear or trying to “fix” them.
• Handling setbacks: Navigating not only challenges in the child’s progress, but also our own repeated mistakes in supporting them.
• Standing in awe of their story: Empowering youth to find their own path to success.

Life often comes with relentless challenges—unexpected stress, shattered dreams, the struggles of a loved one, judgment from others, the weight of constant uncertainty…
When so much feels out of our control, how do we avoid letting it all control us?

In this empowering and poignant talk, Kristina, a self-proclaimed “recovering pessimist,” shares raw stories from her toughest seasons. From navigating the challenges of single parenting while on food stamps to supporting her teen through a mental health crisis, Kristina reveals the practical strategies that pulled her out of life’s darkest corners. By blending vulnerability, humor, insight, and offering actionable takeaways, Kristina provides a powerful roadmap for anyone who has ever felt trapped by their circumstances.

Learning Outcomes:

• The difference between beating yourself up and holding yourself accountable.
• How to stop feeling stuck in the stress that’s holding you back right now.
• The importance of not attaching your value to circumstances out of your control.
• How to prioritize your own needs without any guilt.
• Crafting your own unique path to success.

Our most fulfilling life is buried beneath judgments, insecurities, and shame. It’s time to start digging. What if all our traits we’ve been told are negative are actually our greatest strengths? What if we stopped trying to prove that we are enough? What if we finally found our way back to who we were meant to be before the world told us who to be?

Kristina’s journey spans from immigrating to the U.S. from a war-torn country to struggling as a single mom on food stamps, and later learning how to support her son through serious mental health challenges. Along the way, she faced relentless judgments and battled feelings of worthlessness. In this empowering and humor-filled speech, Kristina shares personal stories and practical tips on how she stopped hating herself without changing herself—and how embracing her authenticity ended up being the key to her success, both personally and professionally.

Learning Outcomes:

• Breaking free from the cycle of comparison, competition, and people-pleasing.
• How to stop hyper focusing on other people’s judgments of us.
• Not allowing our insecurities to lead us or distract us.
• You can’t be a both a people pleaser and a world changer.
• The power of authenticity in reaching success.