This week Ask, Listen, Learn had the chance to start the week off right with one of our favorite superstars Aly Raisman! The Ask, Listen, Learn team headed to Pyle Middle School in Bethesda, Maryland on Monday with a star studded line up of Aly Raisman AND Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler. Not only did the Pyle Middle School 8th graders get to meet two amazing role models but they also were the first group of kids to get the awesome new Ask, Listen, Learn tie –dye T-shirts. (Aly loved our new T-shirts too and even took two extra shirts home for her younger sisters!)
One of our favorite parts of the event was hearing stories from Aly about her high school experience. We learned a lot about having a positive attitude and the importance of setting goals. We loved hearing about how much fun Aly had at her senior prom even though she had to leave it early since she had practice the next morning. Although she was a little sad to leave at 10:30pm she kept her ultimate goal in mind and also had an amazing time while she was there. Aly showed us that you can live a healthy lifestyle and have lots of fun as you work hard to achieve your goals.
Aly also talked about how much fun she has with some of her best friends on the Fierce Five Olympic gymnast team (Gabby, Jordyn, McKayla, and Kyla). Having friends that support your goals was very important to Aly and she said her true friends respected her more for making smart choices and saying NO to underage drinking.
Attorney General Gansler also had some fun with the kids asking them to tell him how they personally resist peer pressure. Both Aly and Attorney General Gansler reminded the 8th graders that the kids who make smart choices in middle school and high school are the ones who ultimately achieve their goals.
We ended the event with Aly and Pyle Middle School kids posing for a photo op in their favorite gymnastics poses! To hear more from our role models check out our PSA with Aly Raisman and ourPSA with Attorney General Gansler!