Students learn powerful anti-bullying message from retired army sergeant
TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A former MMA competitor and a retired army sergeant have teamed up to teach students a powerful anti-bullying lesson. The focus of their lesson is on empathy and emotional learning.
In an auditorium of high school freshman and sophomores, Retired Army Sergeant Rick Yarosh presented a profound message of hope. "We know there are students struggling in that room," he said.
Struggle is something Yarosh knows a lot about. Seventeen years ago, while on patrol in Iraq, the vehicle he was in hit an IED and burst into flames. The accident left him badly burned. Wednesday morning, he told students from HVCC's STEM High School he wouldn't go back and change a thing.
"It's led to amazing things in my life. I'm not in that room with those 60 students if I wasn't injured," said Yarosh.
That outlook only came after years of pain and discomfort, long stares, and rising above. "Nothing fixed everything. There were little pieces along the way," he shared.
Including the people who offered him hope and took action. The message is the brainchild of former MMA fighter Tom Murphy, founder of group Sweethearts & Heroes.
"Our young people are leaving the planet at a rate planet earth has never seen before, and they're doing it to themselves," Murphy said.
He wanted to create a message that was more than just talk. "When you tell a kid stick up for another kid, that's a great piece of advice, sounds good," he said. But he drills the students on practicing skills to connect in the real world.
"I see bullying a lot, but no one really stands up anymore because everyone is filming it, and they'll post it to social media," said Hailey Celasby, one of the students in attendance.
"Everyone has got a little something going on in their life," William Dozal, another student shared.
That empathy helped the 16-year-old reach his hand out in friendship during an exercise on taking action.
Sweethearts & Heroes, which was formed 16 years ago, has reached two million students nationwide through their presentations to schools.