This is exactly what I hoped Proximity would do.
At our first event, I met Brad, who teaches the Business class at Delone Catholic High School. He sat in the room, heard the speakers and the student questions, and loved it. A few weeks later he asked me to come talk to his students. Now we’re friends, and we get to push the same message further together. Proximity is power. This is what it looks like in real life.
His students are the Squires, so the talk was all about the hero’s journey: suiting up in your armor before the real adventure starts. I shared my story and a few lessons that have carried me.
The next morning I woke up to around 30 emails from students. That’s the whole reason we do this.
The big one was optimist vs. pessimist. Everybody has a doomsayer in their life. Not the friend with honest feedback, the one who’s always negative and always stirring the pot. You can’t always get rid of them, but you don’t have to let them steer.
I edited the full hour-long talk into one video. If you’ve got a student who could use it, send us a message and we’ll get it to you.
Thank you, Brad and Delone. We’ll be back.
Two weeks ago, Proximity No. 1 was a full house. The messages have not stopped since.
A parent signed their son up without telling him. He left football practice early to be there, filled four pages of notes, and was already thinking about next steps on the drive home.
A student wrote to say he learned real lessons and would be interested in more of these.
Another parent put it best: kids hear the same advice at home, but it sinks in a little more when it comes from ten people who have actually built something.
And the next day, one student sat down and handwrote a thank you card to our speaker Blake Schindler. Favorite lesson: nothing will replace hard work. Blake’s reply when he saw it: “Such a rewarding experience. Not only did the student write me a note, they looked up my work address.”
To every student who showed up ready to listen, every parent who made the drive, and every speaker who gave us their evening: thank you. You are the reason this works.
Every talk from the night is free to watch on our homepage and in our YouTube playlist. Proximity No. 2 is coming. Join the list to hear about it first.
Proximity is power.
This is how Proximity No. 1 came together. Prep in my den. Rehearsing in an empty barn. Matt from Focus Point Creative setting up, my friend Ron catching every moment, and then a packed room.
Nine speakers, one question: what do you wish someone had told you in high school?
When the talks ended, the students rushed the front to ask about internships, life lessons and more. That’s the whole point.
Thank you for helping bring Proximity to life. No. 2 is being planned now.
Watch the behind the scenes video on Instagram.
Proximity No. 1, and what comes next.
On October 8, families from 32 schools claimed every seat in the barn in Glen Rock. Ten people stood up and answered one question: what do you wish someone had told you in high school? Then every speaker came up front, and for twenty-five minutes the students asked them anything.
Thank you to Brooke Schnorr, Nick Rumke, Kenny Daniels, Mike Hinkle, Mary Burke, Blake Schindler, Nick Liberatore, Kelly Schuit and Bill Valway for giving up a Thursday evening. Thank you to Focus Point Creative for the film and photos, to Ron of Midnight Mirage Media for photographing the whole evening, to Cotton’s Security for looking after everyone, and to every family who brought a can for the Hampstead Little Free Pantry.
The whole evening, with a chapter for every talk, is now on the homepage, and every talk is also its own video in our YouTube playlist. Proximity No. 2 is being planned now. Join the list to hear first. All 145 photos from the night are up now, and the page we launched No. 1 with is saved here.
Proximity No. 1. Ten people gave up a Thursday night to tell a room of high school students what they wish someone had told them at that age. Five minutes each. No slides. Then the students asked them anything they wanted.
What this video does not show is the hour afterward. Handshakes, introductions, kids talking to speakers one on one.
Kids get plenty of reps at school and on the field. They get almost none at sitting with adults who built something and asking how. So we put them in the room.
Free, open to any high school student, and No. 1 reached capacity. This was No. 1.
Watch the one minute video on Instagram, or the full evening on our homepage.
What a night to remember.
Watching this time lapse still gives me chills. The flurry of note taking. The speakers giving everything they had in five minutes. The daylight turning to night over that barn while a room full of high school students leaned in.
A huge thank you to our speakers and to the support staff who made it what it was. The feedback since Thursday has been overwhelming, and I cannot thank everyone enough. You took a vision of mine and made it real, and I hope we gave you a night that was worth your time.
If you were there and want to get in touch with any of the speakers or the crew, find them on social or reach out to me directly and I will connect you.
We are editing the full length video now, and it will have everyone’s contact information in it. (It is up now. Watch the full evening here.)
A few personal development challenges got issued in that barn on Thursday, and a few internship doors were opened. You know who you are. We would love to hear how it is going.
Stay tuned. This was No. 1. Watch the time lapse on our Facebook page.
Tonight is the night.
Proximity No. 1. Ten local owners, operators, brokers and builders in Glen Rock, each with five minutes and no slides, answering one question for a room of high school students and their parents.
What do you wish someone had told you in high school?
Then the students get twenty five minutes to ask them anything at all.
We are at capacity and we could not be more grateful for that.
See you at 6:00.
Ten owners. Twenty five minutes. Any question you want.
Email your question to nick@proximityprep.com and we will ask it live, then post the answer.
No question is too basic. The basic ones are usually the good ones. Thank you!
Update: the student Q&A is up. Watch every question and answer.
We are so excited to welcome Kenny Daniels of Dynamo Electric as a special guest speaker at Proximity!
The feedback from parents and students was overwhelming. They want to hear more about skilled trades and how a passion can become a successful business. There is no one better to share that journey than Kenny.
We cannot wait for our students to learn from his experience and be inspired by what is possible when skill, discipline, and opportunity come together!
We are excited to announce that we have officially secured a partnership, no pun intended, with Will Cotton, President and founder of Cotton’s Security.
Will and members of his team will oversee security and event operations for Proximity 1. The organization, flow, and well-being of our guests are top priorities, and having an experienced team supporting us allows everyone to focus on learning, connecting, and enjoying the evening.
You may see Will and his team welcoming guests at the gates or moving throughout the event. Then again, you may not. The best teams have a way of blending right in!
If you do see them, please say hello and thank them for helping us create a safe, organized, and welcoming experience for everyone.
We are grateful to have Cotton’s Security joining the Proximity team!
A quick reminder for our guests: when you arrive, please give the staff at the gate the name used on your reservation email for admittance.
It is October 1, which means Proximity is 8 days away.
We produce video all the time. A live event is a different animal. One room, one night, no second takes, and a hundred things that all have to be right at the same moment. That is the level Focus Point Creative operates at, so that is who we called.
They did not treat this like a small job. They saw what we were trying to build, they saw what it could do for students in this community, and they jumped straight in. We have been working hand in hand with founder and CEO Matt Golueke, who has walked us through our inaugural event with more patience and generosity than we had any right to ask for.
That is what a local partner looks like. Someone who spots a need, understands the impact, and gets to work.
Thank you, Focus Point Creative. We will see you all in 8 days.
The response to October 8th has gone well past anything we planned for. We reached capacity quickly, and names are still coming in for the waitlist. Thank you. It means a great deal.
Here is what that response told us. More parents and students asked about the trades and skilled work than any other subject, so we went out and found someone for it. We are adding a special guest to the October 8th lineup who will speak on skills and trades.
We are holding his name and his topic for a few more days. Watch this page.
Confirmation emails just went out to every family joining us for Proximity on October 8th. If you registered, keep an eye on your inbox, and check spam just in case.
Thank you again for the response this got. We cannot wait to have you in the room.
We are excited to add a new speaker to the October 8th lineup: Blake Schindler, VP of Bob Davidson Ford Lincoln.
Blake works hard and plays hard, and he embodies the Proximity lifestyle. His talk is built around one line: there is no such thing as an overnight success, only the years no one saw.
He may be driving something special, so keep an eye on his arrival.
