Carter Ward, a junior at Cape Henry Collegiate, enjoyed listening to our keynote speaker Chris Singleton and believed that he separated himself from any speaker Cape Henry has ever had. What stood out the most for Carter the most was “how much of a strong person he is because an average person would not normally overcome the murder of their mother.” Speaking of overcoming in life, Carter believes that when “we think our problems are big and that there’s nothing you can do about it, we can overcome them because they aren’t as big as we think.” One word popped into Carter’s head when asked about Chris Singleton – Courageous, because of how he is able to tell his story and get his message across all over the country. Carter connected with Mr. Singleton because he has “lost a few family members to things that you just can’t can’t control.” However, not much compares to losing a mother in the way Mr. Singleton did. Carter feels that we as a Cape Henry Community are lucky to have the opportunity of having distinguished speakers because it shows us “different perspectives on situations and other people’s lives because we are sheltered here.” In the future, Carter would love to see speakers with “a powerful message like Chris’s because a lot of people can learn from people like him.”

Aleezah Adams, a senior at Cape Henry Collegiate believed that the distinguished speaker was one of the most interesting people she had ever met. Just the way “he has persevered through his unexpected trials and tribulations is truly inspiring.” Aleezah took away that the 10% Chris was talking about, “does not dictate who you choose to become and how you impact others.” Chris talked about how there is nothing you can do about your 10%, but your 90% is the reaction to the 10%. Aleezah feels a strong connection between her and Chris because she “ has had to go through educating people who may be ignorant to some aspects of the culture we share.” However, that is something Aleezah and Chris both overcome. Adversity is very important to Aleezah and she believes that Cape Henry did a great job of bringing someone in to display that. 

 Strength. Something that stood out for Aidan Graham, a junior at Cape Henry Collegiate, when he listened intently to Chris Singleton’s presentation. Aidan believes how amazing it was for Chris to “forgive the man who murdered his mother” because forgiveness is not something that someone would turn to in that situation. Most would choose to hate, but Chris chose the opposite. Aidan believed that Chris chose to “be kind, and to forgive the mistakes that are minor.” Aidan explained how he was nothing like Chris Singleton when asked to make a similarity towards him, he said this however he “wishes he could be like him.” Speakers like Chris make the audience want to listen and learn about other issues/situations, and Aidan wants Cape Henry to “bring more people like him in to speak to our community.”