By Zach Steen zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
Area school teachers, officials and concerned citizens woke up early Monday morning to attend the Celebration of Excellence in Education event hosted by the Commission on the Future of Alcorn County.
More than 800 people were in attendance at the Crossroads Arena to witness the official announcement by Excel By 5 Executive Director Bob Clay. “I would like to congratulate Corinth and Alcorn County for becoming the newest Excel By 5 certified community,” said Clay. “Excel By 5 was started ten years ago to help kids, ages 0 to fi ve, be better prepared when they show up for school. The Crossroads community is now the 18th certified Excel By 5 community in the state.” Excel By 5 is a Mississippi only program. “Most city and county school districts don’t work good together. This community, however works together better than any other community I’ve seen in this program,” said Clay referencing the close relationship between the Corinth School District and the Alcorn School District. Award winning educator, author and speaker
Angela Maiers presented the event’s keynote. “I want everyone in the audience to know, you matter,” said Maiers. “I don’t take those two words lightly and I challenge you to not do the same. For the last 36 months, I have had the honor to see the power of these life changing words on so many lives. Maiers is the founder of Choose2Matter, a global movement that challenges and inspires students to work collaboratively to develop innovative solutions to social problems. “Rather a person lives on the streets or works on Wall Street, the need to matter is universal,” she said. “It is in our DNA. It is a human right to know that we are noticed.” Maiers said we have to accept and own our genius. “Believe me, you are a genius and the world needs your contribution,” said the social media evangelist. “We were created for signifi cance and one of the most dangerous things that can happen to us is the feeling that we don’t matter.” Maiers’ Choose2Matter is a call to leadership and an accelerator to connect individuals and communities with a conscience. It combines technology, innovation and mentorship to solve problems that matter. “When someone believes that they matter, they see the world in a different light and behave
differently,” said Maiers. “They approach life and work in a manner that understands that their actions can have a positive impact on the world.” The practice of mattering is very important and can be done in a matter of seconds. “I challenge everyone to take two seconds at the beginning of each day to tell someone why they matter,” Maiers said.
(Learn more at choose2matter.org.)