Motivational Youth Speaker in Minnesota: Tanner Clark Speaks at Apollo High School for Back-to-School

Me: Who"Who's in control of your life!?"

300 High School Freshman: "I AM!!!!”

Have you ever heard 300 fourteen and fifteen year-olds yell that they are in control of their life and recognize they have the power to overcome anything keeping them from being happy - including social media? That was my Tuesday morning in St. Cloud, Minnesota. I'd landed in Minneapolis the day before, made the hour drive north past more lakes than I could count (I'm convinced at least half of them are just ponds but that’s for another blog post), and caught an incredible sunset that alone would have made the trip worth it before I'd said a single word to a single student.

September 1, 2026. Freshman back-to-school orientation. Apollo High School. Let's get into it.

Why Apollo High School Booked a Grit and Resilience Speaker for Freshman Orientation

Let's be honest for a second. Day one of high school is controlled chaos with backpacks. Three hundred freshmen trying to figure out their new school and life and about thirty educators packed into an auditorium. The energy in the room was exactly what you'd expect: Excitement mixed with “I hate school”. We had just gone through the same thing in my house 2 weeks before speaking in St. Cloud. 

Apollo High School had been given a grant to use this year and chose to use it to bring in a motivational speaker to support their students.  Months before I showed up on campus I talked with my sponsor, Lidiah, and Principal Skaalarud about what the right message was for the students. We wanted to set the right tone for the year. Grit, resilience, making good choices, and not letting their phones distract them from what matters most. Most schools call me when student’s behaviors that need to be corrected, Apollo focused on building the right foundation with their students, literally, on day one. 

How a High School Assembly Speaker Builds Trust Before the Keynote Even Starts

Here's something I do at every single school, and Apollo was no different: before I ever get near a stage, I walk the room. Fist bumps. "Hey, what's your name?" “Do you want to take my place on stage if I mess u?” As many students as I can reach in the time I've got. By the time my introduction started, I’m not a stranger. We’ve already connected. In fact, I don’t even walk about from behind the curtain, I sit in the audience with the students until it’s time to inspire them.

Why This Youth Motivational Speaker Opens With His Biggest Mistake

I opened with a story that surprised the students. I won’t get into it here but let’s just say it involved the police and me standing in front of a judge. I made a mistake when I was younger. A big one. When I tell this story, there are always audible gasps from the students. It’s an important moment because right then, 300 students realize the guy on stage isn’t perfect. He messes up too. The next line I shared with them is so important though. I said “It doesn’t matter what you did, it matters what you to. What you did is a part of your history but it isn’t your destiny.” 

Teaching the Thought Cycle to 300 Freshmen in St. Cloud, Minnesota

From there, we got into the part of my talk I genuinely never get tired of teaching: The thought cycle and how to TRAIN YOUR BRAIN in One Second of Strength. I shared with students about the reticular activating system and how thoughts lead to behaviors. Behaviors lead to experiences. Experiences lead to emotions. And emotions loop right back around into more thoughts. When we feed that loop with negativity, your brain will spend all year finding you evidence for it. Feed it positivity and your brain will look for evidence to support how awesome you are.

I showed them exactly how this works. I went around the auditorium asking students their favorite car, then asked who'd noticed they suddenly started seeing that exact car everywhere on the road the second they decided it was their favorite. Hands shot up across the room. That's the reticular activating system, at work on something as small as a car. Now picture what it does with a thought like "I'm not good enough," on repeat, for an entire school year.

What Apollo High School's Freshman Class Walked Away With

• They learn their brain has a bias switch — and once they know how the reticular activating system works, they can point it at something that helps them instead of something that wrecks them.

• They hear it's okay to not have it figured out — because the guy on stage clearly doesn't either, and he's doing fine.

• They leave with a phrase, not just a feeling — S.O.S., Set an intention, Observe behavior, Shift when you're off track, is something a freshman can actually use the rest of the year, not just on day one.

• How to overcome phone distractions that keep them stuck.

  
  

The Reaction Every Freshman Orientation Speaker Hopes For

Principal Justin Skaalerud took the mic back and told the whole auditorium how important this was, then reinforced exactly what I'd just spent an hour building: make good choices this year. 

Then came the part of speaking I never, ever get tired of. When students come up after to share how it impacted them. Five students came up wanting autographs. Two girls asked for a picture. One awesome kid said, "This really made me think," and walked off before I could even respond.

Thank You, Apollo High School and St. Cloud, Minnesota

A massive thank you to Lidiah Zipp for bringing me out to speak in the St. Cloud Area School District and choosing to use their education grant for a speaker! And most of all, thank you for spending twenty extra minutes with me afterward, walking through everything she'd seen: the bear hugs, the story I opened with, the shift in the room. She told me it was exactly what she'd hoped for, and that she could feel the students and the staff locked in the entire time. And thank you to Principal Justin Skaalerud, for allowing me to come and be a part of this year’s back-to-school program. Same time next year? We’ll have a whole new group of freshman who need support. 

To the students: You are in control of your life! Keep choosing to overcome distractions and shift when you get off track. Keep choosing to replace your negative thoughts and remember: you are always One Second of Strength away from a completely different life.

Invite Top Youth Motivational Speaker Tanner Clark to Minnesota Schools

Are you looking for a motivational youth speaker in Minnesota? Is your school ready to start the year the same way or in need of a mid-year reset? If this resonates with you and you’re looking for a school assembly program that goes beyond a simple lecture to create real, lasting impact, I would love to be considered.

Let's talk about bringing this to your campus call (877) 528-9061 between 8 AM-5 PM CT from Monday-Friday or fill out this form: www.onesecondofstrength.com/speaking

One Second Can Change Everything.