The Students Of the Valley Advocating held an assembly on Oct. 29, taking place in the high school auditorium. The assembly was led by Iuri Melo, who’s published two books, Mind Over Grey Matter and Know Thy Selfie. Melo has been a licensed therapist for over 20 years. He was also accompanied by multiple student members of S.O.V.A. who shared their personal experiences.
Melo and S.O.V.A. led a unique discussion about mental health, making the assembly enjoyable for both students and faculty. The assembly was very interactive, letting the students and faculty volunteer to go up to the stage and share memories of compliments that had stuck with them.
Students who spoke included: Ava Manyon, Lexi Leach, Hunter Harrell, Parker Bagley, Trey-Sin Bies, and Kay-Sin Bies. Two faculty members had also volunteered, Blaze Dugger and Mel Syverson.
“When I was 13 years old I had a seizure on Mother’s Day and I stayed in Spokane at the hospital for about a month,” shared Kay-sin Bies. “The best thing someone ever told me was that my grandma was praying for me…. And she prayed the entire time.”
While sharing this memory, he received an amazing amount of applause from the students and faculty.
After the volunteers shared, Melo asked them to bring someone from the audience up to compliment them. The eight volunteers made their way to the audience and picked one person each, bringing them back up.
“My goal for you is [to] be a little more courageous,” Melo said to the students near the end of the assembly.
S.O.V.A. is holding a community presentation with Melo on Wednesday, Oct. 30, from 6-8 p.m. in the LHS auditorium. Students from Lewiston, Clarkston, Asotin and Tammany high schools will introduce themselves and the SOVA team as part of the annual Lewiston-Clarkston Valley “Tough Talk.”
More information is available from LHS and from Melo’s organization, SchoolPulse.
