Diego J. Rios Inspiration

Using COVID-19 as an Opportunity to Impact Our Students

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 10:39:14 -0700

Inspirational Speaker for The Foundation for Hispanic Education's Professional Development Day

The mission of the Foundation for Hispanic Education is to provide leadership in the education of English Language Learners and the development of specialized training programs for teachers of English Language. I love their mission and was happy to help them make an impact on their audience!

The Foundation was preparing for a school year dictated by the restrictions caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. As they planned their Professional Development Program for their administration, staff, and teachers prior to the start of the school year for their students, they were searching for a speaker that would represent their students and truly drive home the message that this is a time to invest in our students.

The Foundation's Director of Curriculum & Instruction and I collaborated on how my message could align with their theme and intended impact on the audience. In order to comply with the social distancing guidelines we are all under, my talk was virtual yet interactive and engaging as the audience alluded to.

My message was focused on the lifelong impact they have the potential to have on each student. I spoke about the many people that invested, believed, and guided me. I call them "Angels" and they are the reason I am where I am.

As my talk concluded, I facilitated an exercise to have each person set personal short term and long term goals for their upcoming school year.

I am confident the audience was motivated to start the year off to a great start and to use the virtual platforms as an opportunity rather than a challenge as they teach and impact each of their students during this COVID-19 era.

Interested in having Diego help you make an impact on your audience virtually?!

Chase Stories Video Interview

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 12:30:49 -0700

Chase Stories Chat with Diego J. Rios Inspiration

Chase Stories is a page dedicated to highlighting the stories of people doing what they love and therefore inspiring its audience to do the same. Marcelino Perez, the host and founder, is an adventure photographer that hopes to convey the human connection with the outdoors and produce genuine moments between himself and his subjects.

Here is a short clip focused on the history of Diego J Rios Inspiration and the desire to "Touch, Move, and Inspire" people all over the world.

Short Clip:

If you watch the full length interview below, you will see that Marcelino and I are great friends that love to adventure locally and internationally while inspiring others through our work.

This interview hits on various subjects from the origin of "Flatizzas" to how I got into Inspirational Speaking to how we see ourselves motivating others in the future and much more.

Full Length Interview:

To learn more about Chase Stories and its impact, you can visit their page at ChaseStories.com and follow them on instagram at @ChaseStories!

Stay up to date with Diego J Rios Inspiration through social media @DJRInspiration and subscribing below!

Quinceañera

Sun, 18 Aug 2019 23:04:22 -0700

Quinceañera Emcee

As the emcee of this Quinceañera, I was responsible for the planning and execution of all logistics of the event. My main responsibility was to make the birthday girl the most important person in the room while still making everyone feel included and engaged.

Interested in having Diego at your next event?!

"LEADERSHIP DAY"

Fri, 13 Apr 2018 21:32:43 -0700

Special Guest and Inspirational Speaker at Beaumont District's "Leadership Day"

Diego thanks Beaumont High School, San Gorgonio Middle School, Mountain View Middle School, and Highland Academy for the great Leadership Day they shared!

"Leadership Day" was an opportunity for Beaumont High School to open its doors to the leadership classes of the local middle schools in its district and hold a day long conference. The purpose of the conference was for all the participants to get to know each other, listen to Diego's talk, and go through team building activities led by Diego, advisors, or high school leadership students.

As soon as all the schools arrived, Diego led an activity outside which allowed students from the different schools to interact with each other, break out of their shell, and make new friends.

Then, everyone went into the theater where the crowd chose the "Handshake Winners"!

It was then time for Diego to inspire the students through his story of perseverance and positive attitude. The students could easily relate with his anecdotes due to his background in student government. Diego tailored his talk specifically to this "Leadership Day" to satisfy the advisor's request to "inspire the student leaders to stand up and spread positivity and kindness. And that being a leader on their campus should be more than simply painting posters and putting on events." Throughout his talk, Diego highlighted the people that had a positive influence on him and motivated him to never give up. He then ended his talk by encouraging every student to have a positive influence on those around them and therefore spread a ripple effect of positivity.

After the talk, the students were split into groups and rotated through...Read More

ELEMENTARY & MIDDLE SCHOOL ASSEMBLY

Wed, 28 Feb 2018 18:40:13 -0800

Inspirational Speaker at Woodrow Wallace Elementary and Middle School

A great pleasure to work with the Huskies and Colts! The day started with a warm welcome by Max, TJ, and Nikki who took me into the gym and made me feel at home! First came the 300 middle school students and I spoke about the peer pressure we feel at that age and how rough times are going to come, but they have not come to stay, they have come to pass if we maintain a positive attitude throughout our lives! Then came the elementary school students and I inspired them to set goals for themselves and never give up because what we get by achieving our goals is not as important as who we become by achieving our goals. After that, I had a special opportunity to work with the Leadership Class of the middle school where we set concrete short term and long term goals and then went through an activity to reach them which taught us that setting our goals is easy, but the hard part is achieving them. Lastly, I was able to spend some time with the kids during recess and played basketball and soccer surrounded by the beautiful valley of Lake Isabella.

Enjoyed every moment and interaction and I look forward to staying in touch with the community!

RAISING MONEY TO MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE

Sat, 10 Feb 2018 11:38:31 -0800

Adopt-A-College Auction Scholarship Recipient Speaker

Former student speaker at Edenvale Elementary's annual Adopt-A-College Auction to raise money for the scholarships that are given to students once they are ready to attend college. I spoke about the impact the program had on my elementary school experience and how the scholarship was an enormous help in getting me through my first year of college. To find more information about this incredible program, visit adopt-a-college.org!

DISTRICT WIDE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

Tue, 19 Sep 2017 21:56:50 -0700

District Leadership Conference Keynote Speaker

Keynote speaker for a leadership conference held for the leadership classes of the middle schools of the Hollister School District. This all day event brought together the different schools and gave them an opportunity to unite and find ways to support one another throughout the school year. The students rotated between a session of leadership curriculum and a session with Diego. Diego's session consisted of an inspirational talk concentrated around success through failure and how life is about how many times we get up, not how many times we fall. He also led a structured activity based on teamwork and collaboration followed by a closure and discussion on how to take what they learned back to their communities. During lunch, Diego was able to spend time with the students, answer any questions they had, and give any personal advice.

BILINGUAL

Tue, 11 Apr 2017 03:03:51 -0700

Celebration of English Proficiency Keynote Speaker

Keynote speaker at Oak Grove School District's Celebration of English Proficiency for students and their families who are now reclassified as proficient in English and maintain their native language at home. As a reclassified student myself, I spoke about the importance of being bilingual and bicultural. Incredible feeling to speak at my former intermediate school, Bernal Intermediate School.

GOAL SETTING

Wed, 28 Sep 2016 02:57:48 -0700

STHS AcademiCon Speaker

This was the third year Diego is invited to be a speaker at the AcademiCon at Santa Teresa High School. This year, he asked for classroom audiences to be able to interact individually with each student as they performed a Goal Setting activity facilitated by Diego. First he spoke about the positive attitude one needs to succeed in school which will later open more doors in life after high school. "It's easy to make decisions, but it's hard to live with them. So be smart in what you decide to do and who you decide to hang with." Students were responsive to Diego's instructions and were lucky to leave with a tangible take away from the session that will remind them of the specific goals they have written down for themselves. This paper is now meant to be placed somewhere that the student will see everyday to remind him or her of the steps necessary to achieve their vision.

GRADUATION

Sat, 21 May 2016 02:54:20 -0700

SMC Commencement Speaker

Student speaker at the Saint Mary's College of California Class of 2016 Commencement. Got the honor to introduce our class valedictorian, to interact with our Commencement speaker (Mahershala Ali), and to address the audience of about 3,000 people as the student body president for the last time.