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Parents often have big dreams for who their children will become. They may be rooted in what we did or wish we had done. But our kids have a way of showing us who they want to be - whether it aligns with our dreams or not. We need to support them as they develop their sense of autonomy, but there is no map telling us how to get from point A (our vision for them) to point B (their vision). Today, we’ll glimpse a mother-daughter relationship and learn how they have struck a balance to build autonomy.

To help with the conversation, we have mother-daughter pair Teresa George and [Bella Sullivan.

BIOS:

Teresa George is a two-time graduate of Saginaw Valley State University, with her undergrad in Special Education in 2003 and her Masters in Education in 2008. She resides in Midland with her three girls, Bella (18), Addi (15), and Gigi (10), and is very active with the girl’s activities, which include dance, softball, basketball, tennis, and volleyball. Teresa is the Director of Career Services at Saginaw Valley State University, where she has worked for the past four years. She’s active in the community as a member of the Midland Noon Rotary Club and Zonta, a Leadership Midland Class of 2021, PTO President of St. Brigid’s Catholic School, and Vice President of the Midland High School Sports Booster Club.

Bella Sullivan- A senior at Midland High School who serves as the Student Council President, yearbook staff, Midland County Youth Leadership graduate and past steering team member, and a member of the National Honor Society. I’m also a student-athlete, a member of the Varsity Basketball and Softball team, and the volleyball manager. I am very passionate about growing and sharing my leadership style. I will be attending Saginaw Valley State University in the Fall.

Positive View of Personal Future is one of the 40 Developmental Assets and factors into their identity and sense of self. Today, we’ll take a deep dive into this Asset to understand how youth develop their view of their future and what can influence this vision of their future self.

GUESTS: Amy Jaster and Peggy Sczepanski

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Amy Jaster is a Midland native who has been an educator for over 20 years, with experience teaching in our local public schools and at the college level. Currently, she is a Lifelong Wellness professor at Delta college in the Health/Wellness division. Amy earned her teaching certificate from CMU and then later completed her master’s degree in Educational Leadership at SVSU. Amy also has experience in the fitness industry as a fitness instructor, personal trainer & former boutique fitness studio owner. She also has a certificate in Creating Wellbeing & as an educator, welcomes the opportunity to educate others on the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle.

Amy is a member of the Midland Noon Rotary Chapter & currently acts as a committee chair of the Wellbeing Committee & co-chair of the Membership & Public Image Committee. In the community Amy has helped to coordinate yoga for cancer patients, caretakers, and survivors in partnership with Midland Cancer Services and she sits on the advisory board for Midland Public Schools (Health Committee). Amy is a recent graduate of Leadership Midland where she now serves on the Steering Committee. Amy and her husband, Jeff, have 2 college-age daughters, Ally and Ella along with two dogs, Charlie & Lucy. She loves family time, being active, and volunteering in her community.

Peggy Sczepanski’s life purpose is to shine bright for her family, inspire others to thrive, and positively contribute to her community.

At Dow, she is responsible for managing the operational strategies, systems, and relationships to impact the wellbeing of Dow people around the world positively. Outside of Dow, she loves to spend time with her family. She shares my passions for healthy living and holistic well-being through Coaching and Consulting individuals and community organizations.

Peggy’s educational background is in Exercise Science and Nutrition. She is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Health Coach, and Energy Management Trainer. In August, 2022 she graduated from The University of Pennsylvania with her Masters in Applied Positive Psychology, which is the science of human flourishing.

Mental health is on the forefront these days. As a society, we’re more aware of it and are talking about it more, which helps break down the stigma previously associated with seeking help for mental health concerns. We’re also keenly aware of mental health concerns for teens. While mental health should always be on our radars, as parents and professionals, the holidays tend to exaggerate mental health concerns. The same can be true for children and teens. In today’s episode, we will be exploring the impact of the holidays on mental health, and talking about tips for supporting our own and our children’s mental health.

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Guests:

Meghan Dahl, Supervisor Outpatient Counseling, MyMichigan

Amy Kramer, Therapist, MyMichigan

Our last few episodes really centered on Developmental Assets and healthy youth development topics. These topics really build substance use prevention. Today, we’re shifting gears in order to talk about substance use disorder and a topic called harm reduction. Harm reduction has become a more commonly used approach in recent years, but there still tends to be some stigma and a lot of questions around it. Today, we’ll try to unravel these questions and remove the stigma from harm reduction techniques.

We’re in an era of mental health concerns for youth that seem worse than in the past. As a society, we’ve been through a lot in the past few years and that has trickled down to our kids. Many kids report having a lot of stress and anxiety. Seeing these trends, a lot of professionals have begun talking about grit. Today, we’ll be exploring the concept. It’s become a really common term, but what does it really mean and how do we help kids develop it? Our guests today have both spent years impacting youth and young adults and helping them build grit through sports and school.

GUESTS: Mark Miller & Jeff Rekeweg

BIOS:

Mark Miller serves as the Director of Math Programs for The Legacy Center. In his role, Mark runs our math tutoring programs for both youth and adults, where he conducts intakes, testing, volunteer tutor training, and does some one-on-one tutoring. Mark’s life’s work has been guided by the pursuit of learning and service. Mark has had a fulfilling career as a teacher, coach, and administrator, after earning his Bachelors in Education from Central Michigan University and his Master of Education through Saginaw Valley University. Mark leans into the philosophy that “Success is when hard work meets opportunity” and uses this message as he encourages learners to achieve their own potential. Mark strikes a balance between his professional and personal life by spending time outdoors. He enjoys hiking new trails, boating on Hubbard Lake, and spending family time with his wife, daughters, and spunky R’Eskie (Rescued Eskie) named Bear.

Jeff Rekeweg was born and raised in Indiana and moved to Midland a little over 12 years ago as the Men’s basketball coach at Northwood University. After 10 years as head coach, he took a new role in advancement and development at Northwood, where he worked for two years. This year, Jeff accepted a new role as the Executive Director of the Greater Midland Tennis Center. Jeff is very community-minded and has been active on several non-profit boards and civic organizations, including The Legacy Center, ARC of Midland, Rotary, and Midland Area Foundation. Jeff and his wife have six daughters and in his spare time likes to golf and is working on his tennis skills.

Our recent episodes have covered many of the Developmental Assets, which help reduce risk-taking behaviors. However, kids still need to have skills to avoid substance use and other unhealthy risk behaviors. What does it take to be able to say no to negative peer pressure and how do we help build those skills?

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Guest Bios:

Officer Brian Soule is a School Resource Officer for Midland Public Schools. He graduated from Delta College in 2012, where he also attended the Police Academy. After graduation from the academy, Officer Soule was hired by the City of Flint Police Department where he worked for 2 years before being hired by the Midland Police Department. Officer Soule currently serves as the School Resource Officer at Dow High School and Woodcrest Elementary. He is also a DARE instructor and a member of the Midland SWAT Team.

Officer Andy Hawkins graduated from the 82nd Delta College Police Academy and was later hired as a Police Officer for the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Police Department (SCTPD). In 2014, he was hired by Midland Police Department. At MPD, he has held the duties of Firearms Instructor and Field Training Officer. Currently, Officer Hawkins is assigned to Northeast Middle School as a School Resource Officer.

Deputy Jodye Streeter is a lifelong Midland resident. He is a happy husband and father of three. Deputy Streeter has worked for the Midland County Sheriffs Office since 2003 and is currently assigned as the School Resource Officer for the Meridian school district, a role he has held for the last 3 years. In his spare time, he likes to spend time outdoors and enjoy time with friends and family.

It’s almost summertime. Kids see freedom; parents see a lot of unstructured time. Unstructured free time can be relaxing, but it can also become problematic if kids are spending too much time

on screens, isolating from their friends, or are unsupervised and possibly getting into trouble. Fortunately, we’re in a community with a lot of Developmental Asset-building opportunities to help fill the summer. Today, we have two special guests to help us think about how we can beat the summertime boredom blues and help build up the kids and teens in our lives. Marcie Post is the assistant director of public services for the City of Midland, a role she has held since 2008.

Kevin Heye is the vice president of operations of Greater Midland Community Center.

The 40 Developmental Assets framework has a category called Constructive Use of Time. This asset category looks at how teens use their free time. Are they filling their time with unstructured

time with friends – which can lead to them taking some unhealthy risks? Or, are they using their free time to learn new things, build skills, and have fun in healthy environments? Creative Activities is an Asset in the Constructive Use of Time category. A youth has this asset if they spend three or more hours per week lessons or practice in music, theater, or other arts. Our recent youth study indicated that only 19% of Midland County students have this asset. What

are the benefits of creative activities and how we can help connect students with the arts so they can reap the benefits?

Guest: Alexis Costley and Sarah Dudinetz

Bios:

Alexis Costley is the Prevention Collaboration Leader for The Legacy Center for Community Success, where she manages operations of community coalitions and collaborative partnerships to address substance use prevention in Midland County. Alexis also works with local schools to help students resist substances. Alexis received her Bachelors of Science in Health Science along with a Minor in Sociology from Saginaw Valley State University in 2021 and is working toward becoming a Certified Prevention Specialist. She is a Midland native, so helping the community she grew up in is very important to her. Outside of work, Alexis spends time teaching ballet and playing with her vizslapoo puppy.

Sarah Dudinetz, a Midland County native, a social media and communications specialist at A.K. Rikk’s in Grand Rapids. She graduated from Grand Valley State University during the pandemic. Sarah is also incredibly passionate about the arts and their benefits for youth. Sarah has been a theatre girl, a podcast host, a dance teacher, a pageant queen, a public relations student, Broadway lover, and more. Sarah is a blogger and a podcast host. You can learn lots more about the benefits of the arts on her podcast, Amplify the Arts, available on your favorite podcast platform.

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Since 2006, the Legacy Center has measured the wellbeing of youth every five years through Search Institute’s Attitudes and Behaviors Survey. The survey measures Developmental Assets and risky behaviors, giving our schools and community an insight into the strengths, needs, and opportunities to better support youth and help them reach their potential. In the fall of 2021, we conducted the fourth survey and have recently finished analyzing the data. Today, we’ll talk to the two leaders behind the survey to learn what the data says and why this matters.

GUEST BIOS:

Kathryn Tate is the President & CEO of The Legacy Center for Community Success, a role she has held since July 2019. Prior to this role, Kathryn served as a Certified Prevention Specialist in a role shared by The Legacy Center for Community Success and Ten16 Recovery Network. Under this partnership, Kathryn took a lead role in coordinating the community’s response to substance use disorder and youth substance use prevention. Kathryn completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Purdue University and worked for Purdue Extension immediately after graduating.

Pam Singer is the President and CEO of Midland Kids First, a non-profit that provides evidenced-based interventions for the most at-risk youth in the county, families involved in the legal system, or viewed at-risk of becoming involved in the legal system. Prior to this, Pam served as the leader of The Legacy Center's Youth Development and Consulting Services practice. In that role, she advanced the concept of Developmental Assets for the community's youth that have been so instrumental in reducing risk-taking behaviors.

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What builds healthy youth who thrive? The Developmental Assets are a collection of 40 experiences, supports, attributes, and characteristics that cumulatively build stronger youth. Every asset helps and today we are going to explore engagement in religious activities. According to Search Institute, just one hour per week of engagement in activities at a religious institution is a protective factor. Yet, we live in an era when fewer families are attending religious institutions. What are the benefits for young people to participate in religious activities?

Guest(s)| Katie Brinklow & Julie Hyatt