Greene County High School students and staff were treated to a television celebrity who delivered several memorable messages.

Nick Tokman, “Sunshine” was on Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch” spent Thursday doing several presentations and workshops as he gave students tips for success and how to achieve your goals with actionable steps, along with having difficult conversations with people to make you a better person and letting others see who you are. 

Principal Karen Shannon explained that Tokman had emailed area schools last spring following the state FFA convention in Ames about sharing his message. She said even though the schedule didn’t fit to have Tokman in the spring, this fall the stars aligned after a discussion with the student council of inviting a speaker to welcome students back to school.

“And what they said is they didn’t want a speaker to come and just leave after 45 minutes. Because half the kids in there aren’t listening, kids are either not really invested in what he is saying or she is saying, felt like it wasn’t really applicable to them always, or how to transfer it from that 45 minutes in an auditorium to life everyday.”

Shannon thought the students were engaged and energized with Tokman throughout the day.

“It’s just not everyday that they get someone who’s been on tv, done some really crazy, outrageous things on a boat off the Alaskan shore; and then to also have this really strong message. This morning was really about, he didn’t just end up there on that show. He had a long journey, and it was hard, and it was not easy. He wanted to make sure that he stayed true to who he was and overcame those obstacles so that he could achieve that goal of being on a boat.      

Tokman also did autographs and pictures with during lunch. Shannon appreciated the grant they received from Bringing Opportunities and Optimism to Students and Teachers (BOOST) of Greene County and Home State Bank for their financial contribution to make this program possible.