“I believe that we will win,” echoed through the aisles of the Rockbridge County High School auditorium as Mr. Jerrod Murr of Paradigm Shift visited RCHS on Aug. 29. 

Murr delivered a message to the RCHS student body discussing goals and inspirations for the future while emphasizing the importance of education for first generation college students. 

Mr. Daniel Fallen, an assistant principal at RCHS, commented on the visit.

“They were brought in to motivate our students to set high goals and to go after opportunities,” said Fallen. “It was also a chance to introduce the student body to our Talent Search program, which supports first generation college students.”

Murr earned the attention of the auditorium by giving an engaging presentation that started off with giving away gift cards, playing an interactive game, and finishing with a talk about how his childhood inspired him to create a bucket list of things to accomplish. 

Junior Thomas Armstrong was captivated by the visit.

“I believed he delivered a great message,” said Armstrong. “He really inspired me to look into the future for what I want to do.”

Murr prioritized looking into the future during his presentation. He discussed how he did not envision his future while he was younger, and he believed that this set him back. Then, he talked about how when he started to think and dream big, his life fell into place. This lesson that he learned himself, about thinking and dreaming of the future, is the message that he wants to pass down to current high schoolers.

Junior Marcella Wallin shared her thoughts on Murr’s presentation.

“I thought it was good, but I couldn’t figure out what exactly the whole presentation was supposed to be about,” said Wallin. 

RCHS is planning on having more guest speakers as the school year progresses in order to encourage the student body to succeed not only at RCHS, but also post-graduation.