Why I started ProjectVox:

Now I'm excited to use everything I've learned over the past decade to help shape and grow the next generation of students, speakers, and leaders. 

I've always been grateful for the exposure and experience I had with soft skills at such an early age. I quickly recognized how invaluable these skills are after school and in the professional world. However, noticing the community around me, I realized that other kids my age weren't given the same experiences and opportunities. 

Growing up in the Salem-Keizer area, I noticed that while I was thrilled to present in front of my class, my peers were anxious, fearful, and dreaded it. This opened my eyes to an alarming issue in my community that I believed I could help address. Youth were under-exposed to opportunities that would support and reward them with professional opportunities for the future. In fact, a recent study shows 77% of high school graduates feel unprepared for the professional world.

Starting at a young age matters because children are more open to learning and developing these skills. They have the time and opportunity to practice these skills early. They have the time to grow and make mistakes. Communication, confidence, collaboration, advocacy, and public speaking are essential and important parts of life; from interviews to networking, the world rewards confident speakers. However, many children and youth, because of financial constraints and limited extracurricular opportunities, are prevented from having the same chance to develop early, which is why I am 100% dedicated to providing the same experience at no cost to all youth. 

I would love the opportunity to play an active role in improving your child's soft skills in a low-pressure, judgment-free zone, and to lower that unpreparedness statistic one person at a time.