On Friday, January 29th, Marissa and Kim Hill, teenage sisters from Sandy, Utah, gave the first of what is sure to be many more presentations of the new “Unplug from Media” program to 500 elementary children from Brookwood elementary. The program is based around the simplicity of teaching kids key skills of how to get out from behind a computer screen, off their phone or away from a video game and becoming a real life “super hero” instead of playing one in a game or watching one on TV.
Marissa and Kim are part of a very unique instructor training program developed by the owners of Personal Mastery Martial Arts, Brett and Teresa Lechtenberg. Their training embodies the accomplishment of four specific goals by the time they graduate high school. The four goals are: The achievement of Master Instructor in the martial arts, the status of a paid professional speaker, becoming a best selling author, and a professional staff trainer. Although these seem like the goals of most adults, let alone teens, the Lechtenberg’s believe that personal improvement can start at anytime.
“I could not be prouder of these two amazing young ladies. They have been training with us since they were 5 and 7 years old and are a true testament to what is possible if you simply dedicate yourself to personal discipline and the achievement of personal excellence.” Said Brett Lechtenberg, the creator of the Unplug From Media program.
Marissa stated, “I love working with kids and teaching martial arts. I have been training since I was 7 and martial arts has allowed me to grow and experience things I probably never would have been able to do in any other activity.” Her sister Kim adds, “When I am teaching I feel like I get to make a real impact on the lives of kids everyday. To me it is really cool and very few people ever get to experience that feeling in there life and especially not at 15.”
The Hill sisters are paving a path. Two other students enrolled in Personal Mastery Martial Arts’ instructor program, Dalton Lechtenberg and Taylor Davie, are also about to take their first steps as public speakers when they teach their first program in March.