He’s someone who never thought he would be an at-risk youth – as most don’t ever think they will be. What started as a picture-perfect journey with two happily married parents in an upper-middle-class household made a sudden 180-degree turn.

After the trauma of losing his father at the age of 14, he started to show behaviors of anger and began acting out. Add on the trauma of watching his best friend die in a car accident at 17, which meant he experienced two traumatic events before his brain was fully developed. He quickly spiraled down a path that no one wants to go down with depression, rage, grief, alcohol abuse, and even suicidal thoughts, all at the age of 17, officially making him an at-risk youth after not effectively dealing with his grief.

During a flight to London with his mother for a senior year field trip, they shared various stories about his father. Those anecdotes showed him that his mother was also grieving and that he was not alone in a difficult time.  After this trip, John was able to recognize the power of hearing others' stories and started to use his own to help others deal with situations similar to his.

This led to a career in helping others. He has been assisting the at-risk population in finding housing, careers, and community experiences since 2004. When he is not at his inspirational speaking engagements, he is the Executive Director of 43 North Iowa https://43northiowa.org/ where he helps people with physical, intellectual, mental, and emotional disabilities.

How Can A Motivational Speaker Help Move Past Trauma?

Simply put – John Paul Derryberry does not believe in ‘5-step’ programs. Step programs can be a great tool. However, it is much harder to get back up once someone inevitably falls off the step. As someone who has battled (and moved on from) his problems, he found that by hearing stories of other people’s struggles, he could see it wasn’t as bad as he thought it was, and he could move past these traumatic experiences – because others have.

John Paul Derryberry uses his story to show that you can change your life’s path at any point – whether in school, working, or retired. He has been able to help individuals, companies, and communities overcome traumatic events and improve their mental and emotional health to become the best version of themselves.

When you are looking for a motivational speaker to overcome challenges or a local keynote speaker in Iowa, Minnesota, or Wisconsin, you can feel confident that John will help inspire, connect, and provide hope for your students, co-workers, friends, and family.