The audience buzzed as the lights in the field house dimmed and presenter Selamawi Asgedom began to speak in a thick Ethiopian accent.

The gym quickly silenced as students squinted and cocked their heads to one side, trying to understand what he was saying. At first, the man, clad in traditional Ethiopian-style clothing, did not seem relatable. But after about thirty seconds, Asgedom smiled and broke character.

“I saw a few people worried out there,” Asgedom said, returning to his normal American dialect. “Like, ‘is he really going to talk that way the whole time?’”

Asgedom was easy-going. He joked, was colloquial and interactive. Yet, his past was peppered with a civil war, famine, a refugee camp, immigration and sudden deaths. After arriving in America, he had to acclimate.

“The things that made me different, they became my enemy,” Asgedom said.

However, he learned to embrace his differences. And in doing so, he rose to the top. Now, Asgedom is a Harvard graduate, an author of eight books, a motivational speaker, a husband and a father of three.

“All of that was possible because I said, ‘I’m gonna share who I am,’” Asgedom said.

In addition to sharing his past, Asgedom tackled the concept of pressure, the power of education and the motto, “Be You 24/7,” which was created by the Healthy Huskies student committee.

Asgedom hopes education is as important to everyone at Naperville North as it is to him. However, he said that at a school like NNHS, students can feel so much pressure from various aspects of life. He believes the best thing a student can do is to focus primarily on growing. After all, success is ultimately defined by personal growth.

“You are not meant to be perfect, you are meant to grow,” Asgedom said.

Nurse Pam Seubold said that after Chris Herren’s speech last year, students wanted to hear more. She believes Asgedom furthered NNHS’ new foundation of “Be You 24/7.”

“To be a healthy Huskie might mean something different to every kid,” Seubold said. “But you can be yourself and be a good human being. We hope that this continues to be a talking point for that.”

Healthy Huskies member, senior Allison Boos, believes Asgedom’s message was necessary after Herren’s presentation last year.

“We wanted to have someone come back and inform students of their importance,” Boos said. “We thought [Asgedom] would help motivate students more.”

Along with Boos, members of the Healthy Huskies program aim to inspire kindness and promote healthy choices inside and outside of school.

According to Seubold, the Healthy Huskies committee initially examined what could be done to meet the needs of the student body. After learning how stressed students in the building appeared through surveys and First Class activities, Asgedom seemed like the perfect choice to not only motivate kids, but to also encourage them to identify and inspire others as well as themselves.

And from defining success to initiating an Ethiopian blessing that excited and united the audience, Asgdeom did just that.

“All the things that make you different, you have to have the courage to step up and say, ‘this is who I am,’” Asgedom said.

He paused.

“Check?” Asgedom said. The audience echoed back. “Check.”