Noted Motivational Speakers Rayna DuBose and Craig Valentine to Address Howard County Students

March 13th, 2013

Renowned motivational speakers Rayna DuBose and Craig Valentine will speak to Howard County Public School System students at two upcoming events: Valentine at the HCPSS Passport to the Future Conference at 8:15 a.m. on March 15, in the Howard Community College Duncan Hall Kittleman Room, and DuBose at the Passport to the Future celebration at 8 a.m. on March 22, at the HCC Smith Theatre.

Valentine will discuss making a powerful first impression at the March 15, Conference, where students are interviewed by volunteers from local businesses, helping them to prepare for real-life job interviews. DuBose will share her powerful message of overcoming adversity at the March 22, celebration, when students receive their Passport certificates.

Students enrolled in the Passport to the Future learn and must successfully demonstrate the skills necessary for gainful employment, including effective communication, technology applications, and interpersonal relations. The Passport endorses students who seek employment in the region as “workforce ready.” An employer who hires a Passport-certified student can be confident that the new employee has the skills and attitudes needed to succeed on the job.

Passport to the Future is a program offered by the HCPSS to prepare students for success after graduation. The program is offered in partnership with the Howard County Chamber of Commerce, which shares a commitment with the HCPSS to the development of a highly educated and successful workforce.

DuBose, a 2001 graduate of Oakland Mills High School, was a star athlete with a full basketball scholarship to Virginia Tech, but was stricken with meningococcal meningitis during the spring of her freshman year. For months she fought for her life, suffering collapsed organs, kidney failure, liver problems, a coma, and finally the amputation of all four limbs. After many months of pain and therapy, DuBose returned to Virginia Tech in 2003, serving as student assistant coach and traveling with the team. She received the first of many accolades that year when she was presented with the United States Basketball Writers Association Most Courageous Award.

Valentine is an award-winning motivational speaker and trainer who travels the world helping companies adapt to, and embrace change. He was the Toastmasters International 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking, and is the recipient of a Congressional Achievement Award for excellence in communications, among other awards. He is also the author of “The Nuts and Bolts of Public Speaking,” co-author of “World Class Speaking,” and contributing author for “Guerrilla Marketing on the Front Lines.”