How Abe Went from Failing His Classes to Thriving As a Leader
How does a kid go from failing to thriving?
When Abe came to work with us at The Dream School Project, he was struggling. Big time.
This was February 2021, in the middle of the lockdown, when online learning was leaving students utterly overwhelmed and exhausted. Too much screen time. Not enough support. Too little social connection.
His grades had plummeted, and worse, his confidence had taken a terrible hit, and the ADHD he’d struggled with for years felt completely out of control. “I wouldn’t describe myself as a people person,” he shared in his first session with us. “I’m pretty shy and awkward.”
Fast forward to today, and Adrian has not only rocketed his grades, but he’s also become a people person and a deeply inspired leader who started a fishing club — AND completely overhauled the robotics club.
It starts with mindset
After extensive work together to improve his mindset and catalyze his leadership, Adrian began to take everything he’d learned from his mentoring sessions and apply them.
He noticed that his robotics club was a place of frustration and tedium. And that frustrated him. He loved coding. He loved robotics. But every time he went to a meeting, he wanted to quit. “We’re not here to have fun,” the captains would say. “We’re here to get work done.”
Abe began watching his friends drop out of the club left and right.
And that’s when he knew he had to do something.
Next, it’s all about taking action
So, he set out on a campaign to become captain of his team, and when the fall arrived, he completely transformed the way the club ran. Now, instead of randomly assigning tedious tasks to each club member, he regularly hosts collaborative meetings where students offer to take on new tasks that excite them.
“We’ve gotten more work done in the last three months this year than in the entire year last year.” He paused to reflect for a moment. “We're actually becoming pretty good friends,” he said with surprise.
But he didn’t just catalyze his external leadership. He also discovered an incredible strategy to calm his ADHD brain AND activate his social impact: fishing.
Fishing? Yes, really. Here’s how it happened:
Mining the wisdom within our struggles
One day, in the middle of the pandemic, nearly paralyzed with overwhelm and anxiety from all of the online assignments he still hadn’t completed, he pushed himself up from his desk, grabbed his rod and tackle, and began peddling like mad through the rain to get to his favorite fishing hole.
There, as the rain poured down around him, bouncing off the steely gray surface of the pond, his hands instinctively casting again and again, a calm began washing over him. Without the relentless glare of his computer or the constant scrolling and tapping on his phone, his mind could think clearly. Now he knew what he needed to do and what it would take to complete his missing assignments easily.
From then on, fishing became a tool he turned to again and again to maintain that same calm and clarity. His confidence grew, and soon he wanted to share this experience with others. So he started a fishing club where students could come together, share fishing tips, and drink in the serenity of the natural world while connecting with their peers in a way that teens very rarely do these days—without their phones. (It’s hard to reel in a steelhead trout with a smart phone in your hand, after all!)
Leadership becomes a way of being
“Now I understand what it means to be a great leader,” Abe shared. “You have to really value the human side of a team. You can’t just control people and expect them to be a team.”
It’s been truly extraordinary to witness Abe’s transformation. His grades are not only rock solid now, but he’s also become a rare and wise leader. And, along the way, he also developed a deep love for neuroscience and is planning to pursue his studies in this field in college.
As Abe awaits his admissions results this spring, he’s in full celebration of all that he has accomplished and created in the last two years.
“I used to feel bogged down by pressures and negativity,” he reflected. “But now I know that I want to be someone who goes through life without any regrets. I know I can do that now. These past two years have shown me that.”
Just as powerful, Abe no longer sees himself as limited by ADHD. “I know how my brain works in these scenarios now, and I have so many tools to help my brain function at its best.”
Read Abe’s powerful personal statement
Read Abe’s personal statement where he brings all of his learning into one unified 650-word statement here.
If you’d like support to catalyze the same powerful transformation for your child, simply reach out. We’d love to help you create the perfect plan to help your child distinguish themselves.