Val Weisler’s Mission to Help People Overcome Obstacles
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At just 18 years old, Val Weisler (@valiswiser) has brought together 6,000 teenagers from 105 countries to overcome challenges. “In my freshman year of high school, I was very shy and got bullied badly. People would put notes in my locker telling me to leave school, and would start rumors that I was mute. I thought, ‘They’re telling me that I’m not worth it, and maybe they’re right,’” recalls Val. “Getting out of bed became my biggest struggle. One day I saw another kid getting bullied at school. I walked up to him, and said, ‘You matter.’ He started to cry. He had nearly given up hope, but I had validated him.”
That night Val built her site, The Validation Project, and the letters from around the world started pouring in. Today, teens share their skills and struggles, and Val’s program partners them with mentors that include software engineers, former professional football players and leaders of social justice projects. “It’s all about that two-part validation,” explains Val, who was handpicked as an ambassador for the US State Department in order to further her mission. “First, showing my generation that we’ve got worth, and then teaching them how to use that worth to help others.”
