Life sometimes presents you with hard situations. I will explain how I challenged myself to achieve every goal I set; regardless of being a Latino student coming from another country, not speaking English, and even having to battle through life and death. I will also share how my decision to never give up, have faith, be fearless, and make the best out of every moment helped.
Author/Emmy Award Winner, Motivational Speaker/LIA Alumni Franklin Mejias Castellanos was born on July 9th, 1999. As a native of Venezuela, one of his big dreams as a child was to visit Disney World in the United States. Eight years ago, that dream came true when he and his family came to the US for three weeks of vacation. His dream vacation took a sudden turn for the worse when he fell ill. A bacteria had entered his immune system, which put him into a coma and eventually killed all four of his limbs. November 11, 2011 was the biggest moment of Franklin’s life, not because he lost his hands and feet, but because he gained a new sense of motivation to challenge all adversity. He started to learn to walk again with two prosthetic legs, a task he thought would be impossible at first. Today, he strives to inspire people by sharing his story. He recently wrote a book entitled, “Más Allá De Mis Manos” or, “Beyond My Hands” to showcase the idea that nothing is impossible. Additionally, he has won several Emmy awards from a documentary that was made about his life. In his free time, he trains for and runs marathons.
Be Capable
Life sometimes presents you with hard situations. You have two options, either go forward or stay in that painful stage of your life. In this presentation, I will explain how I challenged myself to achieve every goal I set; regardless of being a Latino student coming from another country, not speaking English, and even having to battle through life and death. I will also share how my decision to never give up, have faith, be fearless, and make the best out of every moment helped. Learning to embrace difficult situations, allowed me to grow, become a problem solver, and inspired me to take action to help others. I’ve been creating a great legacy with *”Beyond My Hands”, showing everyone that is going through tough times that there is a way to "be capable", and live life to fullest.
