To quickly summarize what was taught at the Summit on Diversity is the quote Mr. Chaz Kellem said during his keynote speech, "We need to act, react, counteract, and interact". Chaz is a very active individual who is comfortable with the person he is and he challenged the students to do the same. His favorite quote and biggest message was "No whining and no excuses". Chaz is a truly remarkable person. He was born with a rare bone disorder, but he has never let it stop him from reaching for his dreams. In fact, he said if he were given the chance to make any wish, he would not ask to be able to walk or stand up like we can. He said the way he was born is why he is the person he is today, and he wouldn’t want to change that. He encouraged students to be good leaders, to use the gifts they are given for the better, and to live moment to moment. Students were asked to create a poster of what they thought about diversity. Central Cambria students created their poster with the thought of our ARCC program and came up with the quote “Celebrate our Differences!” When asked about their favorite part of the day all agreed that they enjoyed meeting new people and making new friends. They also appreciated learning to improve their opinions about others and benefited from being pulled out of their comfort zone to work and collaborate with different people.
