Authors and Ideas Festival spends a day with local students

MONTEREY >> More than 1,400 students from local school districts were invited to the 18th annual Pebble Beach Authors and Ideas Student Festival Friday morning.

Students heard from sports journalist Michelle Kaufman, Debra Fine, an author and communication expert; Dr. Casey Grover, an addiction and emergency medicine specialist; Elizabeth Cobbs, an author and historian; and Rick Stevenson, an author and filmmaker. The five speakers gave students lots to think about, from future career possibilities to advice on how to start and keep a conversation going.

“It’s so special for students because this is an opportunity that most students across the nation never get,” said Monterey County Superintendent Deneen Guss. “For some of our students it’s an experience of a lifetime.”

Students from Anthem Christian School, Stevenson School, Carmel Unified, Chualar Union, Greenfield Union, Mission Union, Salinas City Elementary, Soledad Unified, Spreckels Union and Washington Union School Districts attended the event in the Monterey Conference Center.

“I like to hear the presentations because it opens your mind to a lot of different topics that we might not be informed about,” said Regina Garcia, a senior at Rancho San Juan High in Salinas and a second-time attendee.

Dr. Casey Grover presented various myths about drugs and alcohol and asked students to raise their hands if they thought a statement was true or false. (Andrea Valadez – Monterey Herald)

Garcia was one of the local students who got to meet, spend time with and introduce the speakers to the crowd Friday. She was able to connect with Grover and learn more about his time working in addiction and emergency medicine.

Grover spent his time with the students playing a true or false style game, presenting myths about drugs, alcohol, addiction and overdoses.

“(Grover) was talking to me about our own community and how Monterey is not big enough to the point where we can’t make an impact, but it’s also not super small so we’re able to see how our community is functioning and all the different components that work together,” said Garcia.

“With these opportunities, it opens your mind to a broader range of topics and most of the kids that were here wouldn’t have had that opportunity in their lives. It’s an eye-opening experience,” said Garcia.

Kaufman spoke to the crowd about her experience in sports journalism and the benefits of her career, including being able to interact with some of her favorite athletes. The conference room erupted in oohs and awes as Kaufman showed photos of some of the athletes she has interviewed, including Lionel Messi, Michael Jordan and the Williams sisters.

Kaufman also made a point to encourage the Spanish-speaking students in the audience to foster that skill. She encouraged bilingual students to “be proud of it and use it … it will open doors for you.”

Speaker Michelle Kaufman showed students a video of her interviewing soccer star Lionel Messi. (Andrea Valadez – Monterey Herald)

Fine interacted with students in the audience, showing real-world examples of good and bad conversations. She encouraged students to be friendly and outgoing, which she acknowledged can be difficult for this particular group of students, since they all raised their hands when she asked how many people attended school online due to COVID-19.

Fine’s biggest tip for a good conversation is “the more interest you show in them, the more interesting you become.”

“I really liked how well they conducted themselves and the message behind the speeches,” said Jocelyn Duran, senior at Alisal High School. “I really liked (Cobbs’) book and how it represented the history of feminism.”

Cobbs educated the group of middle and high schoolers on how the idea of feminism began, where it is now and the women who were responsible for many of the freedoms young people enjoy today.

Stevenson was the final speaker of the day, sharing his experience as an independent filmmaker. Much of his allotted time was spent presenting a film he worked on for 23 years, following the ups-and-downs of 11-year-old Cristian’s life until he was 34 and getting married.

“(The speeches) all stuck out to me because I learned something new in every single one,” said Jasmine Ramirez, a sophomore at Soledad High. “Especially (Stevenson’s) … it showed how everybody has their own story and how you can make it your own and find yourself.”

Stevenson asked the audience to consider that they are in charge of what kind of life they lead and remember “every decision you make, you’re writing your story in real time.”

Being in the audience “just proves that you can be basically anything,” said Duran. “It gets (students) to feel ‘this could be me one day … I can do whatever I want and achieve great things.’”