“There were around 150 students who I received remarkable and beneficial feedback from. This experience really gave me great confidence. It was the first time delivering a presentation with my new communication machine.”
- Name: Javed Khalil Moore
- Job title: Motivational Speaker
Can you tell us a little bit about your role?
Having athetoid cerebral palsy, daily life is never straightforward. My typical day would usually begin with carers assisting me with personal care and eating before delivering a presentation. Engaging with young people and being gifted with an ability to have their respect is the best aspect of motivational speaking.
Liaising with teachers to organise presentations is the most challenging part of being a motivational speaker. There are occasions when teachers don’t respond to emails etc. Despite my phenomenal success of inspiring young people over the years I’ve spent the majority of the time emailing teachers. This is so frustrating, which is why I am extremely grateful to be supported by Inspiring The Future! They have been a life-line to motivational speaking in this ongoing coronavirus pandemic when it is gruelling for teachers to organise activities.
How did you get to where you are today?
Well, my hardship at university in 2009 ultimately led me to be passionate about motivating young people. After finishing A-Levels at Southgate School, my care package was transferred from Social Services to NHS.
Simultaneously, I attended university with an unpleasant barrage of inadequate care and academic support. Ultimately due to experiencing stress levels I was left with no option but to quit my course which led to me having severe depression and anxiety.
Due to an educational upbringing, I use these experiences for motivating young people to succeed in education to the best of their ability. Additionally, my experiences of hardship have also led to a passion in mentoring young people. As a result of having depression and anxiety, I enjoy supporting individuals to understand their behaviour and help them to overcome psychological struggles.
What did you want to be when you were in school?
Interestingly enough, I had no particular ambition at school but moreover loved creative writing and expressing myself. Throughout my life even at a young age, I realised the importance of creative writing and how it can teach others about our emotions and experiences.
Who or what inspires you, and why?
This is coincidentally one of the key questions in my motivational presentations. Well, since growing up from an early age I was blessed to have quite a few role models including my beloved mother and father.
I think my biggest inspirations are those that express empathy and compassion towards others. In recent years, one of my biggest inspirations is Laura Percival who organised my first ever secondary school presentation. We met when she was a SENCO at Mulberry Academy Shoreditch and clicked immediately. I’m happy to say that seven years on she is someone I honestly look up to for life.
When did you begin volunteering with Inspiring the Future, and why did you decide to start?
I became familiar with Inspiring The Future when my sister encouraged me to sign up to the organisation in 2019. As mentioned above, I struggled to get motivational speaking opportunities over the years. Therefore, especially during this pandemic Inspiring The Future is a life-line for volunteers like myself to inspire young people at schools.
What Inspiring the Future activities have you participated in so far?
I delivered my primary school presentation to a group of autistic students at Treehouse School.
Bishops Vesey Grammar was the first school ever I conducted my secondary school presentation to. There were around 150 students who I received remarkable and beneficial feedback from. This experience really gave me great confidence. It was the first time delivering a presentation with my new communication machine.
How have you benefited from volunteering with Inspiring the Future?
Well, with the magnificent support of Victoria (Volunteer Manager) I have learnt how to navigate around the portal effectively and how to communicate with teachers. At first, I was extremely nervous as when using new technology, it is very common for me to panic and struggle. Nevertheless, courtesy of Victoria’s beautiful assistance over the months, I now know how to use the website appropriately for communicating with teachers. It was thanks to her patience and perseverance that I can now seek opportunities at schools. Working with Inspiring The Future, I have identified what topics are more beneficial to young people today. They encouraged me to make my presentation more self-centred based so pupils and students can learn from my life experiences.
What would you say to those thinking of joining our volunteer community? Do you have any tips / advice?
I’d say firstly once signed up please take a moment to understand how the website works. Please have patience as teachers are overstretched due to covid which means that it may take time for them to respond. If you’re unsure about anything, please don’t hesitate to contact the team at Inspiring The Future. Their assistance has reminded me to be grateful for support in life.
If you could give one piece of advice to a young person, what would it be?
Be strong, loving, compassionate, empathetic towards each other. Always express and be open about your feelings in life. Work hard and have a calm attitude in intensifying situations with those who may not understand your point of view. Consider life as being short and be ambitious on an everyday basis.
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