From Ethiopia to Oprah: Inspirational Speaker Shares Story with Thompson Students

Mawi Asgedom has overcome a lot in his lifetime.

He started out in Ethiopia, but genocide there forced his family to flee to a United Nations refugee camp in Sudan. When he was 7, the family got the chance to pick up and move their life to Chicago, where Asgedom gradually acclimated to American life and set goals for himself throughout the way. His path led him to Harvard University, and Asgedom is now a full-time motivational speaker who's inspired over 1 million people and was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show. The media mogul has called that show one of the top 20 in the lifetime of her program.

On Wednesday morning, Asgedom shared his story, and the lessons he's learned along the way, with students from Thompson Middle and from Lawn School in Jamestown.

"Going from where I came from, to giving the commencement speech at Harvard, it didn't happen overnight," he told the children gathered around him in the Thompson gymnasium. "You have 180 days here to make an impact. ... Rise up, become your best, hit your turbo button and say, 'I'm doing this because I want to be my best.' "

Asgedom's appearance was made possible thanks to a grant from the Rhode Island Foundation's Newport County Fund. According to the Fund's Joyce Bothello, approximately 40 percent of its grants go to educational initiatives like this one.

At Lawn School, Asgedom's teachings were part of the school's "One Book, One School" program, which required all students to read his text, "The Code," over the summer.

"He's really committed to trying to get the kids to set goals," Lawn Principal Kathleen Almanzor said. "Our goal is the day-to-day from that, to keep the kids going."

Jamestown applied for the $6,000 grant through the Newport County Fund, then Almanzor contacted Thompson Principal Eric Thomas to see if his school would like to be involved. The two principals said they hope this is the starting point for many partnerships to come.

"I'm hoping we can start some friendships here," Thomas told his students as they gathered with their Jamestown peers in the gymnasium Wednesday morning.

Thomas said he ordered several hundred copies of Asgedom's book, for students to read throughout the school year.

Asegedom said his efforts began after he had a transformative experience as a teen through the the help of mentors. He soon began working with students while at Harvard, and then went back to assist students at his former high school after graduation.

"One thing led to another," he said, and from there he was making speeches full-time and had several book deals.

Asgedom is quick to note that his speeches are meant to reach faculty just as much as the students, and that the whole point is to lay the foundation for the school to help its children set goals, and achieve them, throughout the year. One way he helps with that is through his organization, Mental Karate, which supplies schools with the tools to get students on track.

"The most inspiring people in this building shouldn't be guest speakers; it should be the staff working with students," Asgedom said. "Captivating kids' attention for an hour is much easier than setting the track to go 180 days. You have to do both."

During his speech to the students, Asgedom told them how he started keeping a journal at a young age, in which he'd write the names of each of his classes at the start of the school year, along with the grades he hoped to earn.

"Everyone can set goals," he told the middle schoolers. "The hardest part is waking up each day and saying, 'how can I push myself today?' "

Watch the video above to view part of his speech.