In between feats of strength — ripping a phonebook and tightly rolling up a frying pan — Jon Pritikin delivered a powerful message to Highlands School District students.
“My message for you guys as upperclassmen is this: someone here or off campus will go through a difficult time and you’ll have to be a hero for them,” Pritikin said.
Pritikin is the founder of Feel the Power, an anti-bullying assembly that has been heard by over 10 million people, according to Pritikin’s website. Over the course of two days, Pritikin spoke to Highlands School District students. His appearance was funded by Project SEEKS SES, a partnership between the Allegheny Intermediate Unit (AIU) and the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) that addresses trauma, behavior and mental health issues in ten school districts.
Pritikin overcame bullying from his school peers with help from key people in his life who “believed in him, saw his potential, and began to challenge him to rise above the lies that he had believed about himself for so long,” according to the Feel the Power website.
Now Pritikin preaches a related message to elementary, middle and high school students, encouraging them to always look out for their peers, and to rise above bullying.
“What we need is people to be heroes and watch out for each other,” Pritikin said.
