Oprah Winfrey Research Paper

I would like to discuss a person, who in our lifetime who was surely destined for failure. If there had not been an influential person in their life at the right time, who influenced them beyond their circumstances in life, where would this person be now?
She was born Oprah Gail Winfrey in Kosciusko, Mississippi. In her youth, she was the victim if molestation from several family members including an uncle, cousin and her mother’s boyfriend. She began acting out as a teen and was sent to live with her father. Her mom gave birth to another daughter, and Oprah was sent back to live with her mom and grandmother. Oprah ran away from home and
became pregnant at the age of 14 and miscarried her baby boy. She was sent again, to live with

her father in Tennessee.
He was very strict and made education a priority in his home.

Oprah turned her life around and began to excel in school, becoming the class president in high school. I her senior year of high school, she was spotted during rehearsal for drama by a local radio station. She was given the opportunity to begin reading the local daily news on the radio.
She received a scholarship to Tennessee State University where she studied Speech Communications and Performing Arts. Oprah was offered an anchor job at a new
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station in Tennessee and Baltimore Maryland. She took the Job in Maryland and was later fired because she was not a very good anchor. She then landed a job on a
talk show called, “ People are Talking,.” This was the beginning of her talk show career. Oprah Winfrey landed her on show in Chicago in 1985, “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
Opening Statement:
There is a great need for a radical change in the way we address the disparity of our youth today. I am offering a program to address these issues and create a program to capture the essence of the problem in advance. Many youth in the
Riverview School District find themselves in desperate situations and hopelessness. I will create a training and development program to resolve this

issue.
As adults, sometimes when we faced with challenges that are far too difficult to handle, we utilize an inward mechanism called, “fight or flight response.” Our youth experience some of the same stressors in life with no coping mechanisms built in place. It is hard enough for adults to deal with life’s daily hard knocks, our youth have yet to learn coping mechanisms and how to handle some of these same stressors that adults tend to run from.
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The Beauty of Mentoring:
I have always embodied a mentor spirit and concern for others who seemingly who had low self-esteem, lacked confidence or who did not have a clear sense of direction. Our vision for this program is to stimulate learning and confidence that will prepare our youth for careers and lifelong personal success.
Our Mission will be to support the youth of Riverview School District. We understand the importance of educating our children for the future. Our goal is to help these students develop communication, leadership and ethical skills which in
turn will foster self-confidence and personal growth. I will provide a specialized program for students from diverse backgrounds teaching integrity, responsibility and preparing them for future success.
Directive: Starting in Fifth Grade
My program will consist of following students for five years developing success driven and leadership skills. We will began at the fifth grade level, with 5 students as a trial run of my youth mentor program, mentoring these students up until high school graduation.

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How to accomplish this goal:
I have two dear friends who have been in the educational system on all levels for many years.

They will assist me in brainstorming and creating the best ideas possible to make this program a success. I think this will be a successful meeting of the minds because they offer actual classroom experience and curriculum development and I can bring to the table my Human Resource experience and education as well as my Communication education.
We will administer a Short Myers-Briggs Personality Test to get an idea and discuss with them their personality type in the beginning of the program. We will take this test each year to monitor development and growth. We will discuss the outcomes of the test thoroughly with each student so that at this point in time, they will know their personality types and what means now and possibly for the future.
Each student will be given a different colored journal each year to document this journey from beginning to end on each level of the program. In the onset of this program, we will discuss personality types and career goals based on the outcome of the personality test and career assessment testing at that time. I will also administer a Holland Code personality Test which will give insight on what types of jobs fit their personality type.
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Promote Thinking Outside the Box:
After each student is clear on their personality type and what jobs their personality type fits best, we will then explore, thinking outside the box. I think instilling this concept early in the program is very important because this journey will be exposing them to the benefits of having an open mind and exploring different ways of thinking and learning and to become motivated to make a difference in their lives.
While in one of my graduate courses, reading the book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, I learned the essence and importance of deposits and withdrawals. Deposits are the positive and important things you add to a person’s life, such as encouragement, compliments, positive reinforcement and motivational contributions. Withdrawals are the negative things said or done that defeats a person, which can most often ruin a child so early in life, they are right then and at that delicate moment, set up to fail. Students will learn to think first before responding and how to make positive decisions for success and their future.
Foster Confidence to Produce Successful Future Leaders:
After the thinking outside the box installation of the program, we will focused on building up character, confidence, leadership and ethical values. While we