Some conversations stay with you. Not because they were planned. Not because they were long. But because, in a single moment, two people realized they weren't alone.
That's exactly what happened when Carlos met Axel.
When 10th-grade student Axel first stepped onto the stage to share his story through the PLUS ME Project, his heart was racing and his voice was shaky. He remembers pausing at the beginning of his story, unsure if he could continue.
Then, from the back of the room, he heard a voice: "You got this."
That encouragement came from Carlos, a longtime supporter of the PLUS ME Project and CEO of Mizzen Education.
At the time, Carlos had no idea how much Axel's story would resonate with him. As Axel spoke about growing up in Honduras, running cross country, and navigating the complicated relationship between his stepfather and biological father, Carlos found himself hearing pieces of his own life.
"I can't believe I'm hearing this," Carlos later shared. "It was almost like looking at my own story through a mirror."
After the event, Carlos knew he couldn't simply leave. He needed Axel to know that his story mattered.
They discovered they had walked remarkably similar paths. Both had experienced the pain of a father leaving. Both had carried difficult emotions quietly for years. Both understood what it meant to wonder whether anyone else could possibly understand.
For Axel, hearing someone he had connected to say, "I've been there too," changed everything. He realized that someone with a story like his had built a meaningful life, strong relationships, and a successful career. His own future felt possible.
🎥 Watch the full story here.
When someone shares their story with honesty and courage, they give others permission to recognize themselves in it.
Stories remind us we are not alone. They build empathy, strengthen belonging, and can help us reframe experiences that once felt isolating into experiences that connect us to others.
This belief of shared connection is at the heart of the new Story Spark Series from the PLUS ME Project, now available on Mizzen.
Designed for grades 6–12, the eight-part collection introduces students to relatable young adults who share stories about identity, family, confidence, setbacks, successes, belonging, and resilience.
As students watch each story unfold, they identify four essential story elements:
The PLUS ME Project activates the art of personal storytelling to increase confidence in youth as they pursue college, career, and life goals. Personal storytelling is the heart of our work. Every program uses this universal art to help students reflect, connect, and communicate. Their objectives are to help students develop:
“We are a group of relatable role models that embody storytelling. Our goal is to share our stories in the hopes that students connect, are inspired by, and learn from real-life journeys. In the Story Spark Series, you will have the opportunity to share eight different storytellers' journeys with your students. Our hope is that you are able to connect more as individuals, and that students are able to realize that they have their own story that’s just as powerful, if not more than the examples that they’ll hear.” - Richard Reyes, Founder + Executive Director, the PLUS ME Project
Our team at Mizzen is proud to partner with the PLUS ME Project, helping educators create spaces where every young person feels seen, heard, and empowered to recognize the strength in their own story.
Mizzen is a completely free platform designed for educators, youth development professionals, and out-of-school time programs. It gives you access to thousands of ready-to-use learning activities created by trusted content partners paired with powerful planning tools, from hands-on STEM to arts, literacy, wellness, and more.
Just as important as ensuring students know their story is powerful, the PLUS ME project wants to be sure the caring adults who show up every day in youth development and out-of-school time programs have a story worth knowing and sharing.
Personal storytelling is just that—it’s personal. This might be a new and different experience for both the students and staff, and so the PLUS ME team has created Quality Instructional Practices (QIPs) - tips, tools, and encouragement for confidently facilitating the Story Spark Series.
The Story Spark Series kicks off with a QIP about setting the foundation with your group, question prompts to ask your students about their perspective on storytelling and its importance, and how to use the collection for easy implementation.
The collection is designed to fit naturally into the rhythm of out-of-school time programs, youth advisory boards, mentoring groups, and classrooms.
You might:
Wherever it's used, the goal is the same: to help young people discover that their experiences matter and that their voices have value.
To celebrate our new partnership, Mizzen Education and the PLUS ME Project are giving three out-of-school time programs the opportunity to participate in an exclusive virtual Story Spark Experience.
To be eligible to win, all you need to do is be logged into your Mizzen account and interact with the series and serve 6th-12th grade students in your program. Our team will choose three winners and reach out via email to arrange details. This could look like:
✔ Saving the Story Spark Series to your Mizzen account.
✔ Leaving a review on a Story Spark activity.