As part of an interactive workshop, professional speaker Stan Pearson II took students through the acronym S.A.L.S.A in Building 8, stage area on Sept. 13 at Sinclair Community College.
The Student Leadership Association invited Pearson to showcase his work for the students because of his unique and engaging approach.
“Stan not only had a message, but he made it fun. His approach is unique and engaging. I would love to have him back to Sinclair because he is all about the students,” said Karen Williams, specialist/SLA advisor.
S.A.L.S.A. stands for Support, Act, Learn, Strive and Accept. Through dancing, students learned the acronym as well as got the motivation to move through life with all of its obstacles and situations—then learn how to succeed.
“Few years ago, I owned a Latin dance studio. But when I moved to Atlanta, I still believed in the power of the dance,” Pearson said. “I just wanted a more creative way of delivering the message with the movement because I feel that active learning is more powerful.”
Pearson teaches those five principles, support, act, learn, strive and accept because he felt those words resonated more with people. As a way to make learning more enjoyable, he then he incorporated dance.
One employee of Sinclair said she enjoyed the workshop and would love to see him come back to Sinclair.
“I enjoyed the workshop because it was very encouraging for the young people. I thought that Stan did a great job connecting dance to how we can excel in our lives,” said Valerie Mayfield, administrative assistant for academic advising. “Those key steps help us to excel in all of our life challenges and struggles that we go through.”
While the students learned the different dance moves of salsa, Pearson gave them tools to take with them after the workshop was over.
“The workshop was phenomenal,” said William Manning, who is studying accounting at Sinclair. “I learned how to make myself better because I can use what I learned today.”
As a child, Pearson said he was bullied, teased and often felt like he didn’t belong.
“[I just felt] that I wasn’t black enough for my black friends, and too dark for my white friends at one point. It wasn’t until, I got comfortable in my own skin that I was able to help others out,” he said.
That motivation and positive thinking eventually led him to develop the interactive workshop. Helping students learn to be comfortable in their own skin.
“Despite what you may be going through, keep pushing and be better today than you were yesterday,” Pearson said.
As for the workshop, Pearson said he is going to continue to bring a positive message through dance.
“At the end of the day, the workshop is all about students and adults learning about themselves and taking a chance,” Pearson said. “You will find shy students asking people they don’t know how to do a certain step. And that is what S.A.L.S.A. is all about…depending on others to get you to your success.”
For more information, check out the Facebook page Stan Pearson II.
