Alex Snow happens to be a 6 foot 3 inch very muscular guy who we don’t think anyone would pick a fight with in any way shape or form.  He seems to dominate any room he walks into with a very commanding presence and when he speaks people stop an listen.  On Wed, Nov 15th,  JSEC was fortunate enough to have Alex present to our Mr. M, Ms. Young, Ms. Costa, & Ms. Birbuet’s classes.  Upon entering the room most students were present, attentive, and wondering who this larger than life guy was standing in front of the Smart Board in the Library.  We knew that we had been having  Health Presentations in the Library having to do with vaping, marijuana use, internet safety, food and nutrition topics, etc….but many of us kept wondering…’what could this guy be presenting on, what topic could this guy be speaking about’?

Low and behold when he began speaking a deep voice came out that drew everyone’s attention.  He introduced the RI Supreme Court Administrator Dana Smith,  the RI Assistant State Attorney General, Jim Baum, Shawn from the Non-Violence Institute, and himself, Alex Snow from Instinctive Choices.    Even after suffering a stroke recently from a car accident, Mr. Snow honored his commitment to the students at JSEC and presented to our community.  After introductions Alex let it rip, he instantly told us how it all began in 9th Grade, and flowed from there.   His speech was fierce, powerful, emotional, insightful, and brought some student’s to tears.  After the speech we asked students to reflect on his speech and here are just some of what our very own JSEC students had to say:

“Alex Snow  is  a good  speaker  because  he  opens up  about  his  past  life  to  tell  students to not do  the same mistakes he  did  in  life.  The thing that I liked  was  that  he  is  also  teaching  life lessons about  him  being  in  9th  grade  and  how he ended up staying  in  jail for  32  years.”

-Miguel

“He also opens  your mind trying to show others not to make the same mistakes he did. What  I  learned   is  that  I  need  to  be  more  careful  with  what  I  do  in  life”

-Justin

“When Alex came and spoke to us I really connected with what he had to say. I think what we should really think about is what we do and how it’s going to effect other people around us.  The topic about vaping and nicotine stuck a nerve with me and also about on how he spoke about how social media tries to make gang violence to be a cool thing even though it effects our current generation in a bad way.  We know gangs  influences fights and encourages students to bring weapons to school. When Alex talked about how in real life you could go to jail for stuff like that, it made me think about how bad our current generation is.”

-Isaac

“One has to focus on positive things in life and avoid everything that is negative.   No matter how many situations we face especially as teenagers, we should aim for being satisfied with life and everything it gives us.  Sure things will go wrong for us,  we are  human, but we really need to choose making the right decisions vs. the wrong decisions.   We should always strive to be positive and make the best decisions even when our peers want us to make the wrong ones”

-Alexa

”He’s a good speaker. He opens up your mind.  He could also relate to stuff that happens in your life—real world stuff”

-Brian

“Alex G. Snow came into my class and talked about conflicts he been through and it inspired me to do better. The presentation inspired me to not be part of all the negativity  and to think first before I do anything.  I do not want do or follow the steps he did and the poor choices he made which started when he was in ninth grade. I do not want to go to jail and waste my life because of poor choices.  Due to this presentation I will work hard to make positive decisions in my life and actually become something in life.  .He opened my mind about different things on life and how life isn’t a game, it’s real.”

-Adrian

“What I learned about Alex G. speech is to be careful about who you hang around with. I learned to be careful about what I take from other people like vapes and weapons that they may have.  I learned about  how he got 32 years in prison for killing someone and what it was like to be behind bars. I also liked how he told us as our teachers do to “say something” if you see something”

-Hector

“I learned that hanging out with the wrong people can ruin your life. Also learned that you shouldn’t be peer-pressure into doing things you don’t want to do. You should always make your Mom or parents proud.   You should not take anything from  people especially a  random vape”

-Jordan

To watch more and to view a sample of Alex’s presentations please click the following:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4F6vKvqhdo

Recently due to the presentation JSEC and the Assistant Attorney General, will be arranging for our students to shadow certain jobs in the state of Rhode Island so students can witness first hand what it’s like to work in a court, to witness a trial, and to speak to court judges who make decisions on cases all over Rhode Island.  We are thankful for the partnership we have developed with Alex Snow and his organization called “Instinctive Choices” along with the referring agency Non Violence Institute, along with the RI Attorney General’s Office.