hi everyone I’m Eric and I’m here today
to talk to you about change and really
change on a small scale and how everyone
in this room has the power to have an
impact in the world around them whether
they think so or not right and I will be
giving this talk a lot from the student
perspective right I’m a student you know
giving this talk at a high school so
it’ll be easy relate to but I want to
really make the point that this is
applicable to everyone and everyone in
the audit everyone and anyone in the
audience right so I would like to start
by saying that when you’re a student
right when you’re 14 15 16 17 you know
when you’re in high school most of your
life is about things you cannot do right
most of us live somewhat dependent lives
with our families right we a lot of us
don’t have like a career or a
substantial source of income a lot of us
can’t drive you know whether it be that
we don’t have our license yet or our
cars are expensive right so I feel that
students are told and really kids are
told that much of their life things that
they much of their life they can’t
control and a lot of it is about things
they cannot do right and I feel like
this sort of bleeds into other areas of
their life like safe in community and
community based problems right and I
think this kind of contributes to and
helps to develop this mentality of a
little fish in a big pond right and what
I mean by that is that people feel you
know small and insignificant right
they’re just one of many
and this really kills change right it
kills your ability to have a change on
the world around you and I’m here to
talk to you today about why this really
shouldn’t be and we really can’t afford
to be like this and why everyone out
here can have a change in the world
around them and that change doesn’t have
to be difficult
alright so I’d like to start right off
give an example of how change doesn’t
have to be difficult with a question
right how many of you in here can it can
hold a baby or think they could hold a
baby if given like a human baby like a
small baby just born right I want to see
a show hands right okay basically
everyone right so can we all agree can
we all be in accord that holding a baby
is not a difficult action right by any
means really I mean maybe if they’re
fussy but still
right but I’m here to tell you that
something as simple as holding a baby
can have a profound impact in the lives
of children right so a few high
schoolers and I in the local area are
going to be spending a few hours of our
week every week cuddling babies in the
neonatal intensive care unit right and
something is simple as holding a baby is
going to contribute profoundly to their
life for it’ll help the babies grow on
average we were told in orientation that
a baby exposed to positive human touch
will grow 47 percent more than a baby
who is not when the caloric intake is
remain you stake ice to remain constant
and it also contributes profoundly to
their the development of their
prefrontal cortex and their brain in
their their capacity for language right
so we are going to be helping these
babies the rate at which they get out of
the hospital on time the rate at which
they don’t have to go out of go back to
the hospital and the rate at which they
you know can kind of start their life on
time right because babies in the NICU
are born with a with a rough start at
life right so as great as this is right
as awesome babies are it’s not about the
babies right it’s about that a simple
simple or insignificant action can be
linked to a profound effect right and
these are all over these are these this
kind of this link between insignificant
action and a significant response are
frequent throughout your life
or throughout your you know daily
existence but they’re not always super
easy to spot but they’re easy to create
right so one of the areas that I want to
talk about real quick
that every single person in this room
possesses power is at the grocery store
right and a lot of people don’t think of
it right away
because everything else every single
time you walk into the grocery store
you’re presented with a wide variety of
options right things you can choose to
buy or choose not to buy and everything
that you every decision that you make
will speak loudly about yourself and the
environment around you right I’m gonna
get an example some products at the
store contain palm oil right on
sustainably harvested palm oil and for
those either know me pretty well you’re
probably laughing a little inside
because this is something I talk about a
lot right well palm oil on sustainably
harvested palm oil it’s a really serious
thing and it can cause mass
deforestation well right right and as
good as a person you are every time that
you choose to buy a product that has
palm oil in it
and oblique Arve stood you’re silently
endorsing accompanies you know the way
in which they brought this product to
the market right and I’m here to talk
about how really companies know
themselves right so a company will know
what sells and what doesn’t right so in
choosing not to buy something right
you’re kind of sending a message to the
company or by choosing to buy something
you’re sending a message right and I
would like to say that oh I’m trying I’m
not trying to argue that just myself
choosing to boycott a product that has
palm oil in it or even this auditorium
choosing to boycott a product with palm
oil in it is going to you know take take
whatever product is off the shelves or
run any run any companies out of
business I’m not arguing that but I do
think that we need to be conscious of
this little fish in a big pond mentality
because people get stuck in this rut
right this rut where they’re like you
know it’s just me at the grocery store
you know making these decisions and it’s
just me trying this a good example is
voting right a lot of people you hear
that can’t you hear the term like a
wasted vote a lot right what’s a wasted
vote you know I mean you’re still voting
right but that that is a perfect example
of what the little fish in the big pond
mentality is because people feel
insignificant and that they can’t make a
change in the world and I’m here today
to tell you that that is false and that
you can and that change doesn’t have to
be difficult right so with that being
said what what are we doing it’s stem
right I want to talk a little about what
we’re doing in stem right so I’m gonna
take you back
quick preface to over the summer when
kind of all this got you know started
moving in my head and I started till I
talked to a lot of my fellow peers a lot
of teachers and a lot of a lot of my
family right about about things that I
saw in the world and what I wanted to do
about it right and I really learned two
things from these conversations and the
first is is that the little fish in a
big pond mentality is ever present in
our world right a lot of kids you know
this is their everyday you know they
they either they recognize or they don’t
but it’s really with them because it’s
difficult to be a single student with an
idea right it’s difficult to be a
student who wants to bring about a
change or a project a project to their
school because kids kind of feel
insignificant they feel like they’re
just one of many right so that’s one
thing I learned in the
second thing I learned is that kids have
a lot of really good ideas and they’re
really passionate about a lot of things
I was genuinely surprised and honestly
inspired by some of the conversations I
had just with kids that are my age or
younger than me about things and a wide
variety of things that they’re
passionate about you know some kids told
me their ideas and beliefs and I was
like I’ve never I’ve never heard of that
before that’s really cool that’s really
considerate right
however these things it’s somewhat
unfortunate that they exist together
right the fact that people feel like
they can’t make a change but really they
have really good ideas and you know
really bold aspirations all right so I
wanted to make us a solution to this
right so the sustainability Advancement
Society was born right so what what is
the sustainability of man Society or SAS
SAS is a club at stem but really it’s
more than that it’s an organization it’s
an idea it’s a concept right and
essentially what it is is it’s a place
where students can come together and use
the passion and the dedication of their
resources of their peers as a resource
right they have extra brains and extra
hands to help bring their ideas to
fruition but what is this like what is
that what does that represent right that
represents getting yourself away from
the little fish in a big pond mentality
because not a single student in SAS
feels that they are small they don’t
they know personally that they can have
a change in the world around them and so
far really that’s that has kind of
played itself out as of current SAS has
76 functioning members from 10 a few
months ago probably like too much go
before school started we went from 10 to
76 and one of stems larger clubs now and
we are pushing out a full program to
stem about self-sufficiency we plan on
building a garden at stem thanks to
administration for approving that we
plan on fixing the recycling system with
stem bringing composting to stem and
really what’s really exciting is going
out to the community and talking to
elementary schools other high schools
and businesses about you know what
sustainability is and one of the things
that we care about because again it’s
not necessarily about the specific
sustainability it’s not about the babies
and it’s not about the grocery store
it’s about knowing that you can make a
change in the world right
because this mentality of a little fish
in a big pond can really stunt all your
progress or all your change that you
want to bring about right so now with
that being said right with the two
points that I’ve made you know you can
have you have the power to change the
world around you and change doesn’t have
to be difficult so you know someone
listening this might be like that’s cool
but now what right so when talking to
kids about this or you know really
anyone about this I normally say two
things and the first is picks if one you
want to have a change in the world
around you or when you want to when you
when you want to bring about you know a
change or an impact first pick something
that you’re passionate about pick
something that you care about all right
what’s gonna get you up in the morning
and motivate you to go out and make a
difference because I’m a personal
believer that is increasingly important
it’s ever important to do what you love
right and I feel like if you’re gonna
have a significant impact in the world
around you you need to be doing
something that you truly care about and
you’re dedicated to you’re personally
invested in right and the second thing
from that is to kind of do a quick look
at yourself who you are and where you
are in the world right what kind of
person are you
what do you like to do what are your
resources like what are your talents so
think about you know are you the person
who likes to get up and talk are you the
person who likes to draw or build or
design right are you a person who has a
lot of time or money at your disposal
like what resources do you bring the
table and how can you use these to make
a change in the world right and one of
the things that I really want to touch
upon is that change isn’t about
resources right it’s not about you know
who has the money or who has the time
right because the sustainability Vance
for society the SSA yes I can tell you
right now we don’t have any more time
than any other clubs we don’t have any
more money than any other clubs we don’t
have any more teachers than any of their
clubs but we we do get ourselves away
from the little fish in the big pond
mentality so when you’re going about
making change in your world and when
you’ve picked what you want where you
want to have an impact in because by the
way there’s plenty of areas that could
use some help like for example help and
support for those with mental illness
help and support for those with special
needs or disabilities
care for the elderly right the food bank
right even even voting right all these
areas could use could use people who
care about them so it’s in it’s
important to pick what you like right so
once you’ve chosen what you want to do
and then start to have an idea of how
you want to do it I encourage every one
of you to kind of do what we do at SAS
and get take yourself away from the
little fish in the big pond mentality
and always remember and never forget
that you can have a change in the way
around you because once you truly
believe and you know inside that I can
have a change in the world around me
through however I choose right that is
when you’ll be able to accomplish big
things thank you
to talk to you about change and really
change on a small scale and how everyone
in this room has the power to have an
impact in the world around them whether
they think so or not right and I will be
giving this talk a lot from the student
perspective right I’m a student you know
giving this talk at a high school so
it’ll be easy relate to but I want to
really make the point that this is
applicable to everyone and everyone in
the audit everyone and anyone in the
audience right so I would like to start
by saying that when you’re a student
right when you’re 14 15 16 17 you know
when you’re in high school most of your
life is about things you cannot do right
most of us live somewhat dependent lives
with our families right we a lot of us
don’t have like a career or a
substantial source of income a lot of us
can’t drive you know whether it be that
we don’t have our license yet or our
cars are expensive right so I feel that
students are told and really kids are
told that much of their life things that
they much of their life they can’t
control and a lot of it is about things
they cannot do right and I feel like
this sort of bleeds into other areas of
their life like safe in community and
community based problems right and I
think this kind of contributes to and
helps to develop this mentality of a
little fish in a big pond right and what
I mean by that is that people feel you
know small and insignificant right
they’re just one of many
and this really kills change right it
kills your ability to have a change on
the world around you and I’m here to
talk to you today about why this really
shouldn’t be and we really can’t afford
to be like this and why everyone out
here can have a change in the world
around them and that change doesn’t have
to be difficult
alright so I’d like to start right off
give an example of how change doesn’t
have to be difficult with a question
right how many of you in here can it can
hold a baby or think they could hold a
baby if given like a human baby like a
small baby just born right I want to see
a show hands right okay basically
everyone right so can we all agree can
we all be in accord that holding a baby
is not a difficult action right by any
means really I mean maybe if they’re
fussy but still
right but I’m here to tell you that
something as simple as holding a baby
can have a profound impact in the lives
of children right so a few high
schoolers and I in the local area are
going to be spending a few hours of our
week every week cuddling babies in the
neonatal intensive care unit right and
something is simple as holding a baby is
going to contribute profoundly to their
life for it’ll help the babies grow on
average we were told in orientation that
a baby exposed to positive human touch
will grow 47 percent more than a baby
who is not when the caloric intake is
remain you stake ice to remain constant
and it also contributes profoundly to
their the development of their
prefrontal cortex and their brain in
their their capacity for language right
so we are going to be helping these
babies the rate at which they get out of
the hospital on time the rate at which
they don’t have to go out of go back to
the hospital and the rate at which they
you know can kind of start their life on
time right because babies in the NICU
are born with a with a rough start at
life right so as great as this is right
as awesome babies are it’s not about the
babies right it’s about that a simple
simple or insignificant action can be
linked to a profound effect right and
these are all over these are these this
kind of this link between insignificant
action and a significant response are
frequent throughout your life
or throughout your you know daily
existence but they’re not always super
easy to spot but they’re easy to create
right so one of the areas that I want to
talk about real quick
that every single person in this room
possesses power is at the grocery store
right and a lot of people don’t think of
it right away
because everything else every single
time you walk into the grocery store
you’re presented with a wide variety of
options right things you can choose to
buy or choose not to buy and everything
that you every decision that you make
will speak loudly about yourself and the
environment around you right I’m gonna
get an example some products at the
store contain palm oil right on
sustainably harvested palm oil and for
those either know me pretty well you’re
probably laughing a little inside
because this is something I talk about a
lot right well palm oil on sustainably
harvested palm oil it’s a really serious
thing and it can cause mass
deforestation well right right and as
good as a person you are every time that
you choose to buy a product that has
palm oil in it
and oblique Arve stood you’re silently
endorsing accompanies you know the way
in which they brought this product to
the market right and I’m here to talk
about how really companies know
themselves right so a company will know
what sells and what doesn’t right so in
choosing not to buy something right
you’re kind of sending a message to the
company or by choosing to buy something
you’re sending a message right and I
would like to say that oh I’m trying I’m
not trying to argue that just myself
choosing to boycott a product that has
palm oil in it or even this auditorium
choosing to boycott a product with palm
oil in it is going to you know take take
whatever product is off the shelves or
run any run any companies out of
business I’m not arguing that but I do
think that we need to be conscious of
this little fish in a big pond mentality
because people get stuck in this rut
right this rut where they’re like you
know it’s just me at the grocery store
you know making these decisions and it’s
just me trying this a good example is
voting right a lot of people you hear
that can’t you hear the term like a
wasted vote a lot right what’s a wasted
vote you know I mean you’re still voting
right but that that is a perfect example
of what the little fish in the big pond
mentality is because people feel
insignificant and that they can’t make a
change in the world and I’m here today
to tell you that that is false and that
you can and that change doesn’t have to
be difficult right so with that being
said what what are we doing it’s stem
right I want to talk a little about what
we’re doing in stem right so I’m gonna
take you back
quick preface to over the summer when
kind of all this got you know started
moving in my head and I started till I
talked to a lot of my fellow peers a lot
of teachers and a lot of a lot of my
family right about about things that I
saw in the world and what I wanted to do
about it right and I really learned two
things from these conversations and the
first is is that the little fish in a
big pond mentality is ever present in
our world right a lot of kids you know
this is their everyday you know they
they either they recognize or they don’t
but it’s really with them because it’s
difficult to be a single student with an
idea right it’s difficult to be a
student who wants to bring about a
change or a project a project to their
school because kids kind of feel
insignificant they feel like they’re
just one of many right so that’s one
thing I learned in the
second thing I learned is that kids have
a lot of really good ideas and they’re
really passionate about a lot of things
I was genuinely surprised and honestly
inspired by some of the conversations I
had just with kids that are my age or
younger than me about things and a wide
variety of things that they’re
passionate about you know some kids told
me their ideas and beliefs and I was
like I’ve never I’ve never heard of that
before that’s really cool that’s really
considerate right
however these things it’s somewhat
unfortunate that they exist together
right the fact that people feel like
they can’t make a change but really they
have really good ideas and you know
really bold aspirations all right so I
wanted to make us a solution to this
right so the sustainability Advancement
Society was born right so what what is
the sustainability of man Society or SAS
SAS is a club at stem but really it’s
more than that it’s an organization it’s
an idea it’s a concept right and
essentially what it is is it’s a place
where students can come together and use
the passion and the dedication of their
resources of their peers as a resource
right they have extra brains and extra
hands to help bring their ideas to
fruition but what is this like what is
that what does that represent right that
represents getting yourself away from
the little fish in a big pond mentality
because not a single student in SAS
feels that they are small they don’t
they know personally that they can have
a change in the world around them and so
far really that’s that has kind of
played itself out as of current SAS has
76 functioning members from 10 a few
months ago probably like too much go
before school started we went from 10 to
76 and one of stems larger clubs now and
we are pushing out a full program to
stem about self-sufficiency we plan on
building a garden at stem thanks to
administration for approving that we
plan on fixing the recycling system with
stem bringing composting to stem and
really what’s really exciting is going
out to the community and talking to
elementary schools other high schools
and businesses about you know what
sustainability is and one of the things
that we care about because again it’s
not necessarily about the specific
sustainability it’s not about the babies
and it’s not about the grocery store
it’s about knowing that you can make a
change in the world right
because this mentality of a little fish
in a big pond can really stunt all your
progress or all your change that you
want to bring about right so now with
that being said right with the two
points that I’ve made you know you can
have you have the power to change the
world around you and change doesn’t have
to be difficult so you know someone
listening this might be like that’s cool
but now what right so when talking to
kids about this or you know really
anyone about this I normally say two
things and the first is picks if one you
want to have a change in the world
around you or when you want to when you
when you want to bring about you know a
change or an impact first pick something
that you’re passionate about pick
something that you care about all right
what’s gonna get you up in the morning
and motivate you to go out and make a
difference because I’m a personal
believer that is increasingly important
it’s ever important to do what you love
right and I feel like if you’re gonna
have a significant impact in the world
around you you need to be doing
something that you truly care about and
you’re dedicated to you’re personally
invested in right and the second thing
from that is to kind of do a quick look
at yourself who you are and where you
are in the world right what kind of
person are you
what do you like to do what are your
resources like what are your talents so
think about you know are you the person
who likes to get up and talk are you the
person who likes to draw or build or
design right are you a person who has a
lot of time or money at your disposal
like what resources do you bring the
table and how can you use these to make
a change in the world right and one of
the things that I really want to touch
upon is that change isn’t about
resources right it’s not about you know
who has the money or who has the time
right because the sustainability Vance
for society the SSA yes I can tell you
right now we don’t have any more time
than any other clubs we don’t have any
more money than any other clubs we don’t
have any more teachers than any of their
clubs but we we do get ourselves away
from the little fish in the big pond
mentality so when you’re going about
making change in your world and when
you’ve picked what you want where you
want to have an impact in because by the
way there’s plenty of areas that could
use some help like for example help and
support for those with mental illness
help and support for those with special
needs or disabilities
care for the elderly right the food bank
right even even voting right all these
areas could use could use people who
care about them so it’s in it’s
important to pick what you like right so
once you’ve chosen what you want to do
and then start to have an idea of how
you want to do it I encourage every one
of you to kind of do what we do at SAS
and get take yourself away from the
little fish in the big pond mentality
and always remember and never forget
that you can have a change in the way
around you because once you truly
believe and you know inside that I can
have a change in the world around me
through however I choose right that is
when you’ll be able to accomplish big
things thank you
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