Ian Inspires Passion In Schools
It was after attending Holmes High School in Covington, graduating from Northern Kentucky University with a bachelor’s degree in radio and television, and working at ESPN that Ian Smith, founder and CEO of Skool Aid, realized he wasn’t following his passion. So, he took a part time job substitute teaching and began pursuing a master’s degree in special education. But, it turned out that wasn’t his thing either. Music (and fun), now THAT was Ian’s THING!
Ian developed a program he called Movement in Music, a class that incorporates the rhythmic sounds of Ian’s drum with physical fitness games to teach kids about good sportsmanship, teamwork, and other life skills. It was an idea that caught on. Soon he was being hired by schools from Pleasant Ridge to Kenton County. “Then I began thinking, if I am building relationships with all these districts, why not help other teaching artists have an opportunity too to pass along their passions to students?,” Ian told me.
Some five years later, his organization that he named Skool Aid includes 25 teachers presenting 28 different programs to area schools, mostly for afterschool programming. Skool-Aid is also contracted by LADD, Inc.’s Cincinnati ReelAbilities Film Festival to present ReelEducation in area schools, teaching children about appreciating and understanding differences.
Along the way Ian reconnected with a childhood friend, Jake Counts, who recently retired from professional wheelchair basketball. Together they began talking to classes and entire schools about disabilities and adaptive sports. Then they began incorporating a fun game of Jake’s sport into their program.They gathered parts to build wheelchairs so they could teach kids about wheelchair basketball, and then realized, Cincinnati offered no opportunities for young people who use wheelchairs to actually play and compete in the sport.
Ian and Jake began working with the Cincinnati Recreation Commission to create a team for adults called the Cincinnati Royals, and organized the Cincinnati Dragons team for children 14 and under(under the umbrella of the Greater Cincinnati Adaptive Sports Club). They are in the process of expanding to also have a junior varsity team.
In Ian’s Words
“One reason I am really passionate about this work because it is an opportunity to empower other teachers to work with kids, develop a class teaching what they are good at, and do that they are on earth to do. If I can supplement their income by their teaching kids their passion, then these educators are also influencing kids to identify their passion
Jake and my presentations open the eyes of kids who might not have anyone in their lives who has a disability. By seeing and getting to know Jake and how he is just like them in many ways, they come to realize that they can have commonalities with anyone who is different from themselves.”
This Doc Gets Hugs For Treatment
It has been more than a dozen years since I first found myself in Dr. Michael Bertram’s office. I honestly don’t know what would have happened to me had that visit not have occurred. For five or six years prior, I was living with daily and constant, chronic pain from a sacroiliac joint injury (the largest joint in your body at the base of your spine, connecting to your pelvis). Traditional orthopeodic medicine was not helping. Physical therapy did not help. Ultimately it was suggested that I explore a non-traditional, interventional treatment called prolotherapy. Also known as regenerative injection therapy, prolotherapy involves injecting an irritant (a dextrose solution) into damaged joints to stimulate an inflammatory or healing response which encourages tissue growth, ultimately strengthening the affected area.
I feel compelled to write about it because so many people are unfamiliar with the treatment, and people need to know. Thanks to Dr. Bertram and prolotherapy, I have been able to get back to normal living again…which for me is working and leading an active lifestyle with lots of exercise. He treated my knees three years ago when they began bothering me, and I had been pain free in my knees since. I did just recently go back for an additional treatment for some minor discomfort (when I overexert myself mostly in exercise), but more for maintaining my health.
With my blog being about sharing diverse people’s passion and pursuits, I wanted to learn more of the driving force behind this doctor for whom I am so grateful.
Dr. Bertram’s story, in his own words:
I am always trying to find better treatments because I know what it is like to experience life changing pain and the resulting depression as a result of a trauma. I was 19 when I had a back injury. I used to play sports every night and do physical labor, and had to quit all of that. I would hide when my friends were moving because I could not help them. The MRI showed I had three herniated discs, among other things. I could have been on high level narcotics and still be struggling but today I am building retaining walls, doing yard work and basically leading a normal life. I want to help other people get back to doing what they want to do too. That’s really what drives me.
I was studying engineering in college before this and then decided that being a physician was what I wanted to do.
I learned about prolotherapy by accident. Like so many others, I had done lots of therapies and was referred to multiple doctors. I was even referred to a psychiatrist when it was thought my pain was mental. It was while I was doing a pain fellowship after medical school and my residency training that I just happened to be there when a patient came in and requested of another doctor an alternative treatment because traditional treatments were not working. It was something I had never heard of until then, prolotherapy. I asked if I could watch.
I went online that same day to learn what I could and found a conference/workshop occurring within that month. Of course I wanted to go. It was at that conference where doctors did prolotherapy on my back, and several months later, I was without any pain. I tried to stir things up but activities didn’t bother it. I was shocked and determined. I went back to take another course a year later and got a second treatment. I have had a couple spells since then but they go away.
I went on a medical mission trip to Honduras to learn from well respected doctors who have been practicing prolotherapy for a long time. We treated hundreds of patients, all free to them. That kind of learning would not be possible in the United States. People in Honduras who do heavy labor work would travel from far distances, from the mountains and the deserts, knowing they would be coming to get painful injections because those injections allowed them to get back to what they wanted to do. They were bringing their friends and families to get better.
I learned so much from that mission trip, not just about improving my techniques but also about how to be a better doctor. Those doctors who were our instructors spent two weeks without pay away from their clinics to help me and others be better. They are my role models.
For me, my greatest satisfaction from doing prolotherapy is the smiles I see on people’s faces. With other treatments, I may get people feeling better but I don’t see the kinds of life changing improvement that I do with prolotherapy. It is the only time that I get hugs from patients. When someone has been in pain for ten years and they suddenly get such a significant part of their life back, that is how they express themselves sometimes. I smile back. I’ve got to be honest, there are times when I am shocked by how well it works.
Dr. Bertram is with St. Elizabeth Physicians, temporarily located in Kenwood. His specialty is physiatry, subspecializing in nonsurgical orthopedic regenerative and intervention medicine. You can reach him at 513-370-5140.
Her Job Helps Kids Be Just Kids
Lily Raphael is program manager for a nonprofit organization that has a soft spot in my heart, UpSpring. If you are unfamiliar, each year UpSpring removes barriers in the way of classroom and life success for more than 3,000 Greater Cincinnati youth experiencing homelessness. The 
organization recently wrapped up a very successful school supply drive. Being a part of it, getting to see firsthand the impact of so many generous volunteers and donors on young people, and just working everyday around students showing such fortitude in the face of truly difficult circumstances has been life changing for Lily. She shares some of her thoughts below.
“Working with young people is so inspiring and energizing. I love that my work challenges me to create, think quick, and problem solve, and that each day is different. I also love working for an organization that creates environments and experiences for kids to just be kids. Due to the trauma and challenges that children experiencing homelessness face, their living situation often asks of them to act more like adults, causing their childhood to be accelerated in some ways but then unlived in other ways. For me, this work has taught me the importance of consistency and stability, and how easily it is taken for granted by people who have it.”
About the School Supply Campaign
“One of the highlights of our campaign regarding our donors and volunteers is how many people got their children involved in supporting this effort. All in all, around 25 kids assisted with filling backpacks at donor and volunteer backpack stuffing events. When kids learn about the work we are doing and the effects of being homeless as a child, it is so powerful to see their willingness and enthusiasm to help out. After all, some of the kids we serve could very well be their peers, and we feel that is really impactful for kids to realize this.
Since the need was much higher than we anticipated this year, I was initially concerned about being able to fulfill all the requests we had. But we did it, and we certainly have many people to thank for that. Through amazing individuals and groups coming together to lend their support, we were able to make sure that every request we had was met, ultimately serving more than 1,100 children experiencing homelessness this season. It feels really good knowing that we didn’t have to turn anyone away. Delivering the resources was a great opportunity to connect with our partners. I was so happy to hear from them how helpful all these resources are for the families and children they serve. I even had the opportunity to deliver directly to one of the families whose children were in our Summer 360° program. Since we don’t typically meet the families we provide resources to, I appreciated being able to connect personally with the grandmother who shared some of what her family’s experienced with me. As she discussed how important education was to her family, I admired her determination and selflessness in ensuring that her grandchildren could continue to go to school in spite of their living situation being in flux.
For the recipients of these resources, this effort is a huge help. Back-to-school season involves so many expenses, none of which can really be cut out. With extra support for uniforms, transportation, and school supplies, parents are able to meet the requirements for their kids’ schools. And ultimately, this ensures that the children we serve do not have to miss out on (or be singled out during) those critical first days of school because they didn’t have what they needed.”
Lisa Hillenbrand Is A Change Agent
Long before I learned about Lisa Hillenbrand’s professional career, I knew her as a fun loving mother of a beautiful son and daughter and two dogs. When I think about her, I think about how she has this great way of making me laugh and smile. I also remember going to her house for the first time and seeing a snake on her stairway leading upstairs. (That is the school’s pet that Lisa sometimes watches over the summer.) It is an experience you don’t soon forget.
But I learned some time later that there is a whole different side to Lisa that I never knew. For 27 years she was director, Global Marketing at Procter & Gamble, leading the team that “re-engineered” P&G’s company-wide brand building approach, creating the Brand Building Framework that has become the foundation for how the global consumer goods giant approaches marketing. In 2004 she was elected the prestigious Harley Procter Marketer by the company’s top managed for exemplifying the highest standards of P&G marketing.
These days Lisa is a brand building and organizational change consultant with her company, Hillenbrand & Associations; and is co-author of a Stragility: Excelling at Strategic Changes (2016) that Forbes called “a vital and practical guide to taking action, adapting systems, and empowering people.”
I wanted to introduce you to Lisa, as she is most definitely someone I look up to with CINspiration.
Lisa D: Please tell us something about yourself that we may not know.
Lisa H: Before a long career as Director Global Marketing at P&G, I worked in book publishing as a publicist. I wrote press releases, booked authors on tours and coached them on interview skills.
Lisa D: You have talked about the need to weed out the less significant projects in favor of the more critical ones in business. That also seems like pretty solid words of wisdom going beyond business, to life. How does this relate to life? How does it relate to your life?
Lisa H: I keep learning, and relearning, to prioritize the big stuff and let some of the small stuff go. When I do that, I can make time for the important but non-urgent stuff like staying in touch with friends and family.
Lisa D: How did the name Stragility evolve and what is its meaning and significance?
Lisa H: Stragility starting with my co-author typing too fast in Google search. She intended to type Strategic Agility. We both liked the new word because our work is about strategic, agile, people-powered change. In Stragility, we aim to help any leader learn the skills to create successful change again and again in their organizations and in their lives.
Lisa D: Tell us about a personal challenge you have overcome. What are some of your lessons learned from the experience?
Lisa H: I had breast cancer about 5 years ago. It forced me to live more in the present and to not take anything for granted. I’ve had more good than bad impacts from the experience. I really do savor each day more than ever and try not to sweat the small stuff.
Lisa D: Who is someone, a role model or mentor, who has positively influenced your life; and how did that person impact you?
Lisa H: There are so many role models. I am in awe of Nelson Mandela and how much positive change he was able to accomplish.
Lisa D: What is something you now know that you wish you had known when you were 20?
Lisa H: I worried so much when I was 20 about everything. I think my 20 year old self would be pleased to see that life turned out fine. But she’d probably be horrified to see me in spandex yoga attire.
Lisa D: What is some advice you would give others on living and experiencing life?
Lisa H: I suppose I’d give them the same advice I give myself – to lean into the chaos, take risks and enjoy the ride.
A Cincinnati Teacher’s Simple Joy
A positive teacher who brings out the best in her students is an incredible gift to a growing mind. My Walnut Hills High School intern, Isabella Noe, spoke with Dawn Wolfe. I think you will be moved by this teacher’s inspirational story of how her job brings her joy.
In her own words, from Dawn Wolfe, an English teacher at Walnut Hills High School (a Cincinnati Public School)
“There is a simple joy of seeing a student in the morning and saying, ‘Hello.’ No matter what that student has done, what they had been through that morning and the night before, they still come into school, and they are ready to say ‘hello’ and they are ready to work. Even when I give them an essay. And they still smile, and they are still thankful.
Actually I really love when I hand students an essay and they say ‘thank you.’ And that amuses me to no end, every time, because they are grateful for their learning, and they are thankful for the opportunities they are being given.
The opportunities that I have had at Walnut are different because of the diversity of students here, and the variety of students- not just socio-economic, not just gender, but the level of grades that we have (7-12). [I enjoy] being able to work with kids when they are very small and scared and new to Walnut…And then when I see them as seniors, and I got to watch them grow and work with them at various points. I think that is the most amazing opportunity that I have had here.
And then, when they come back and give me hugs after they’ve gone to college; That’s so cool!
One thing I love about teaching is that there is no repetition, even between bells. I teach the same thing every day, 5 bells a day…every day. But the comments and opinions of students make it interesting, and each year you get to start with a brand new group of students, a completely clean slate, and reflect on what you’ve done in previous years, and you get to do so much more.
You get to make changes to make things better for the students. Especially with this new human rights course, I hope I can impart the message that we cannot be passive and let things slip by. Let’s be upstanders, and make a change in what you want to in the world.
I decided to be an English major because I was the kid who read 5 books at a time when I was little. But, I was going to go to law school. I wasn’t going to be a teacher. But I was so proud of what I saw in students and I wanted to be part of that, and wanted to have fun every day when I went to work; I do have fun every day when I come to work.”
– Dawn Wolfe
