UWM Student inspired to empower teens with speeches about struggles with mental illness and resilience

Amanda Springob left her small town of Spencer, Wisconsin, to live in the city. The city where her parents had once met at a Brewers game. The city her father once called home, and in turn, welcomed her back as her college town. Milwaukee was a perfect match with someone ready to make a difference.

Springob realized she had a way to make a positive change for young people, which has impacted her own life. Her hobby has led her to change her majors, from theater to communications, and has given her a voice to inspire others. Her special talent? Motivational speaking.

“The more I got into speaking, the more I realized that it was what I wanted to devote myself to,” she said about her major change that’s allowed her hobby to flourish.

Springob’s dedication to her projects has shaped into becoming a career. The idea came after finding TED Talks, a series of inspirational and moving speakers who pitch ideas to better our lives through technology, inspiration and planning.

“When I was 16, I started watching TED Talks in my free time,” Springob said, “and [I] was absolutely obsessed with it.”

The obsession turned into a spark of creativity, which turned into a goal of learning how to connect with people and to really make an impact.

After becoming the president of her high school’s Leadership program, Springob was tasked to create a presentation for her school’s Anti-Bullying program. This opportunity allowed her to share her personal stories of bullying in a powerful speech, which she was asked to present in her conference and then in other schools.

Speaking has given Springob an outlet for her own troubles after dealing with depression and anxiety during her time in high school.

“I tell my personal story and encourage teens to be resilient,” Springob said about what she hopes to accomplish with her audience.

While in high school, Springob learned how to be resilient after experiencing the worst time in her life. Because of her network of close friends and family, Springob was able to bounce back stronger than ever and said she owes her mental stability to those she opened up to during her darkest times.

“For people with depression and anxiety, the journey towards that type of self-acceptance is incredibly hard,” said Springob, “but I hope that through hearing my words, people can see that there is a way to make even the most negative situations become positive ones.”

Springob speaking skills were showcased at TEDxUWMilwaukee in 2015 where she was chosen to be a student speaker her freshman year.

“It was incredibly humbling,” Springob said about the experience, “and my talk has been a great asset to by credibility as a speaker.”

Her message is to connect with her generation and let them know they aren’t alone. While her speeches are more for teens, she feels her words resound with her fellow college students.

“I am a millennial, and I speak to millennials,” Springob said, “I think high school and college students can relate to my work because they have felt the same things I have during their adolescent years.”

Her childhood connections to her audience help make her messages relatable and help ground herself to those she is talking to. Her goal is to let students know they are allowed to be taken seriously and to have a voice. She wants to show “teenage issues” are just as serious as adult issues.

“I had a lot of times as a teen where I stayed quiet until I broke,” Springob said about her struggles with mental health, “I don’t want other teens to have to experience that.”

Springob has officially created her own business website to connect to other teens and to find schools to go talk to but isn’t here without her setbacks. After starting up her website and switching majors, she has had to reach out for help in the business aspects.

“There are times when I have to consult other speakers or mentors to figure out the right moves,” she said, “I’ve been able to gain a lot of insight from UWM’s Student Startup Challenge about starting a successful business.”

Springob said that her mentors have helped her idea grow, and helped her understand new ways of branching out and reaching students.

“I want to give them hope that things can always turn out better in the end.”