How
College and High School Audiences Respond to
Mariah
"You are a phenomenal role model for women of all ages. Everyone appreciated all that you had to share. I admire your courage: taking the chance and realizing your dream!"
Jodie Burton (no relation), Head Women's Basketball Coach, Claremont-McKenna/Harvey Mudd/Scripps College
"I believe that what makes you such a great speaker is because you are such a careful listener. Both times you were on our campus, you asked our coaches and me so many questions about the athletes. I realize how important it is to know your audience. You have mastered that by listening so carefully."
-- Robin Sheppard, Associate Athletic Director, Trinity College
"Mariah, I attended your lecture at the Severn school last month and was so intrigued by your speech. I have watched your video and We Are All Athletes. I am beginning The Unburdened Heart. You were truly my inspiration on Sunday, as I ran my 14th marathon. This one was a little different for me, as I was trying to qualify for Boston. I ran Boston in 1983 and thought how cool would that be to qualify in 2003, 20 years later. I went out strong and was feeling really great, until about 19 miles when I BONKED in a big way.
"There are so many things I could share with you, but the most important is that your inspiration brought me across the finish line on Sunday. At mile 21 I began chanting to myself, "You are strong, you are an ATHLETE!!!" I am telling you that this mantra was my driving force. Thank you for all your inspiration and the wonderful gifts you share with so many."
-- Cynthia Barney, Director of Athletic/Plus Programs, Director of Financial Aid, Middle School Physical Education Teacher, St. Anne's Day School
"Many thanks for your awesome and inspiring presentation about leadership! You are truly a trailblazer and a wonderful role model."
Suzanne Zetterberg, Scripps College
"I greatly enjoyed your talk last night at Scripps College. You are such an inspirational speaker! I am not an athlete in the traditional sense of the word. As a matter of fact, I consider myself to be rather uncoordinated. I suppose the comments when I was young, by males in my family, such as : "You run like a girl!" & "You throw like girl !" hit their target. In retrospect, I wish I had answered: "well......DUH! I AM A GIRL! Instead, I still feel self-conscious enough that I didn't raise my hand last night, for fear that I'd miss the Hershey's kiss when you threw it.
However, I am happy to tell you that I "broke the cycle" of low self-confidence. My daughter, Katie, is a talented athlete (basketball & discus). I am so proud of her competitiveness & confidence. She attended your talk last night and told me that she thought you were "Amazing!"
I loved your comments about being authentic & having personal strength & integrity. You truly convey such a positive, loving message! Your thoughts about forgiving oneself were especially appreciated.
-- Kathy Kent
"You can only imagine how your presentation has inspired me. When I think of you and all you do, I think of the word courage."
-- Louise Bonin, Senior Women's
Administrator, Nicholls State University, LA
I was part of the group you spoke to today at T.C.Williams and I play for Coach Dee. Your book is amazing and it really has changed me as a person and athlete. One of the professions I am considering is an author and I think they way you incorporated sports and writing is really cool. Thanks again for coming to talk to us today, I really enjoyed it.
-- Cecily Kidd
"Several people
took the time to send me an email or voicemail
letting me know they really enjoyed the talk. The
positive responses came from students,
administrators,and faculty members. They liked
the upbeat, informative, positive
approach. They also spoke of being impressed with
your mere grace and strength. You made all of us
feel stronger!"
-- Valerie Cushman,
Athletic Director, Randolph-Macon Woman's College
"Fabulous!
I cannot recall such a dramatic and emotional
response to a speaker."
-- Karen Epstein, Georgetown Day School
"I hope you could tell
from the quiet attention and loud applause that
you won your audience."
-- Betsy Griffith, Headmistress, Madeira
School, VA
"You got this campus
talking like no one in quite a while!"
Barbara Hall, Dean,
Centre College, Kentucky
"Ever since you came,
Ive had so much self-confidence and
energy, I feel almost invincible!"
--Lori Hendricks, student, Mount Holyoke
College
"Tonight's
presentation was interesting,
thought-provoking, humorous, and empowering.
What more could one want from a speaker?"
-- Judith Krouse, Council of Women in
Independent Schools
"Comments and
feedback from students, staff, and administration
have been nothing short of 'extremely positive'
and 'thoroughly inspirational!'"
--Lyn LaBar, Athletic Director, Wells College, NY
"You drew an excellent
crowd, and my students who attended your
presentation wrote very positive things about it.
It is clear many of them never thought about how
athletics could be important for women, and they
found your approach to be quite a
revelation. Whereas many of them focused
only on your message to women, at least one young
man wrote about the message he took away for
himself. He said he would never forget your
suggestion to "give yourself
permission to be strong" - and he
felt he needed to hear that as much as some of
the women in the audience did.
"We in the Women's
Studies program also appreciated
your afternoon consulting session with us. We
found it very helpful to have
your input and suggestions with respect to our
strategic planning and the development of a
mission statement. It was much more productive
and fun than the average
mission-statement-writing meeting. I heard from
one participant that she had found it a
"spiritual experience" and from another
she had found it immensely important
in clarifying her own personal goals."
-- Hilary Lips, Director, Women's Studies,
Radford University
"Your insightful
and humorous talk touched the audience in many
ways. The feedback has been extremely positive,
and students especially enjoyed the personal
touch you gave the talk. Your breadth of
knowledge and anecdotal tales inspired and
challenged those present. I also appreciate your
staying late and chatting with the coaches."
-- Laura Lockwood, Director, Women's Center,
Trinity College
"Mariah was
excellent! Her presentation style is relaxed,
informative, and very engaging."
-- Yonna McShane, Health Education
Director, Middlebury College
"The feedback we
received was overwhelmingly positive.
People found your ideas to be inspirational, and
several people viewed you as a role model
for them. The event was a great
success."
-- Giavanna Munafo,
Women's Resource Center, Dartmouth College
"The feedback from
your keynote has been exceptional.
We found your ability to relate intimately with a
group of 400 to be nothing short of extraordinary.
-- Ellen Silber,
Director, Marymount Institute for the Education
of Women and Girls
"It is so rare to have the
students witness such a strong,
outspoken woman! They really enjoyed listening to
you!"
-- Courtney Williams, student, Lasell College,
Massachusetts
What
Sorority Women Say About Mariah
Here are some comments from students and other
sorority leaders:
"Thanks again for a great speech. Our
collegians loved your message and found
your words to be quite inspirational. You
did a great job!"
--Julie Johnson, Kappa Delta Sorority National
President, 2000
"Thank you for being such a positive inspiration
for so many people. I so enjoyed listening to
your message and appreciate role models
like you."
-- Melissa Zabka, Kappa Delta, Seward, Nebraska
" On behalf of the Panhellenic
Association and the Interfraternity Council, we
would like to extend our sincere gratitude to
you for coming to Miami University to speak last
Thursday. Your message on the importance of
competition to succeed in life was well
received by all who attended. We also thank
you for your willingness to answer questions
and to stay for the reception. You touched on
a lot of key issues that Miami students face
every day, including excess drinking, hazing, and
body image. It is so important for college
students to have a positive role model
like you."
--Erin Crotty, VP of programming, Panhellenic
Association of Miami University
"I advise a small chapter in Texas. The
women who attended with me were moved and
motivated to work to make their chapter
better. I was moved in a different way. I've been
toying with the idea of going back to school. But
I've been scared. What will my family think? How
will I pay for the degree? Can I balance family,
school, and volunteer commitments? I had a
million excuses. But your speech inspired me.
I have requested information from some local
universities. It is a small step but a first one
nonetheless. Thank you for inspiring me to
move forward!
--Aimee Geen Bartis, Kappa Delta Sorority
"Your speech was so inspiring to me.
It is something I will never forget, and I
will use the knowledge I gained from it for the
rest of my life. Sometimes it's hard to be a
leader, and I am unsure how to do it. I will use
your formula from now on, and it will make
leading my sorority so much easier. Thank you!
-- Andrea Kay, Epsilon Rho Chapter, Kappa Delta
Sorority, Rochester, NY
To
contact Mariah about her presentations, call
703/276-8323 or write to her at Mariah@MariahBurtonNelson.com
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2002
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