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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, March 10, 2016 | 14 Ridge 360 tackles trio of issues affecting teens by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff There are moments in your life when you have to make tough decisions, said Anthony McLean, a motivational speaker. People may tell you to go one way, but you know in your gut the right thing to do is to go the other way, he told Iroquois Ridge High School students last Thursday (March 3). "Leadership means staying true to your gut and making that right choice even when you're the only person doing it," said McLean, founder and director of iEngage. The company delivers high-impact, motivational presentations, infused with comedy and music, at more than 400 schools across the GTA. It means you may sometimes get laughed at and it also means standing up for yourself and others. "Don't let anyone make you feel like less of a person," said McLean. "Don't let anyone make you feel like you have to do something to prove who you are." The advice came in the keynote address McLean delivered to more than 1,300 students at the northeast Oakville high school's first-ever school-wide conference. Ridge 360 focuses on enriching the lives of the student body through workshops aimed at developing students' leadership skills, Speaker and actor Anthony McLean gave the keynote address and opened Ridge 360, the first school-wide conference hosted by Iroquois Ridge High School. It featured a variety of guest speakers and workshops dealing with leadership, global citizenship and mental health. | photo by Graham Paine ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) encouraging them to become global citizens and showing them the importance of mental health wellness. McLean has previously appeared as a guest speaker specializing in diversity, bullying and health and wellness on CityTV's Breakfast Television, Global Toronto's Morning Show, CTV News, and CBC Radio's Here and Now. He was the subject of Colour Me, a 2011 documentary film that follows his life as a motivational speaker and the mentorship program he runs for black teens in Brampton. While challenging his students to analyze and abandon the stereotypes they have accepted, he is forced to critically examine his own identity. McLean is also an actor who has appeared in commercials for Ford, Milk, Tim Hortons, Sprite, Verizon Wireless and Bell and has hosted CBC's shows. Through personal experience and anecdotes about his friends, McLean, shared some lessons learned and the importance of taking a moment to collect one's thoughts instead of following your emotions. He described how a road rage incident he was involved in could have easily escalated into violence and, subsequently, affect the rest of his life. After nearly colliding with a white cargo van, McLean said he pulled over into a plaza to let the driver pass, but was followed. The driver of the van got out of his vehicle and started calling him names and using racial slurs, McLean said. Although he was offended, he said he made the simple choice to apologize. "He looked at me confused," said McLean, adding the driver got back into his car, and drove away. see Conference on p.18 Easter Bazaar SAT., MARCH 26 · 10 AM - 4 PM FREE ADMISSION · homemade ukraInIan food · hoT LunCh · home-baked goods Fun for · Vendors Skyway JewellerS the whole family OPEN Thurs 1pm-6:30pm · saT 10:30am-1:30pm · sun 10am - 12pm all prepared and easy to warm up To pre-order call or email us at 905-337-1400 ext. 116 cafe@sjucc.ca www.terracetakeaway.ca colour your life 2501 Third Line Rd. Oakville 905.827.0700 300 river oaks blvd. e. at trafalgar, oakville 905.337.1400 St. JoSeph'S Ukrainian CatholiC ChUrCh sjucc.ca