Everyone is capable of achieving their goals and dreams.
That is the message of hope and inspiration that former professional athlete turned motivational speaker Duane “D” West hopes to impart on everyone he meets.
On Friday afternoon, West paid a surprise visit to students at Central Elementary School. Last school year, West visited the school to encourage the children to work hard academically so they can achieve their goals in life.
Friday’s visit was about praising the students and reinforcing that encouragement, West said.
School can be hard for many students, and that is something West said he knows from his own personal experience.
As a child, West struggled in school — with his studies and also with bullies. Not only was he small for his age, West said he also came from poverty.
“I was bullied the whole time,” West recalled.
From the time he entered school until the 5th grade, West said he struggled in school.
“I was that kid that could barely read and write,” he said.
It was around this time that West said he met a teacher that changed his life. “She said ‘I knew you could do it,’” West recalled. “That helped me know that I could do it. I was just looking for a teacher to believe in me.”
Those simple words ‘I knew you could do it’ had a tremendous impact on West.
“In two years I went from being an ‘at-risk special needs student’ to a ‘gifted and talented’ student,” West said.
That same sense of confidence and the belief in self is something that West hopes he can pass on to other students who struggled like he did.
“I want these kids to know it’s OK if they struggle, as long as they keep trying and don’t give up,” West said.
Children also face hardships outside of school, and that is something West said he is also familiar with.
“Some of these kids come to school hungry,” he said. “I came to school hungry.”
West grew up in poverty, but he kept believing in himself and worked hard to pursue his dreams. He became the first person in his family to go to college.
After college he went on to have a career in television, work in the fitness industry and become an author.
Then, at the age of 30, he decided to pursue another dream, his dream to play professional football.
West began his career with the Florida Bobcats and later played for Dallas. His time in professional football was cut short following a serious injury to his knee.
With his professional football career now over, West decided to take all of his experiences and once again create something positive. West became a motivational speaker with hopes of inspiring others the same way he had been inspired.
During last year’s visit to Central Elementary, the students were working on improving literacy and were also preparing for annual student achievement testing. West spoke to the students and gave them encouragement to do their best and work hard in order to succeed.
West enjoyed the visit so much last year, he said he couldn’t wait to come back to meet with the students again.
“I love this school so much,” West said. “This principal (Terry Morely), he gets principal of year out of the whole country.”
West said Morely and the teachers and staff at Central Elementary work hard to encourage the students year-round, which has led to the student’s successes academically.
Central Elementary students attained the highest score out of 17 counties in the region on their RTI program and made all their benchmarks in student achievement tests, West said.
In his talk with the students on Friday, West challenged them to keep up their hard work.
“I don’t want you to settle for being the best just this one year,” West said. “I want you to be the best every year.”
It was the students hard work that inspired West to visit the school again.
“The principal called me and he was so excited and he was telling me how great the kids did on the test,” West said. “I decided to get in my car and drive the six hours up here from Atlanta to surprise the kids and make this day special for them.”
And, he said, he wants them to continue to work hard even after they get out of school.
“We have to look beyond just this school and carry our dreams out into the world,” West said.
West said he had one more goal for the students — to not only believe in themselves, but to believe in and encourage each other.
“I want them to come together as a team, one single team,” West said. “When one of them falls, I want the others to learn how to pick each other up and help each other.”
“If we all work together as a team and help and encourage each other we can do anything,” he added.