A Maryland delegate shared a personal experience to encourage high schoolers to avoid nicotine.
"My father is a lifelong smoker and he had developed cancer," Delegate Dereck Davis told the audience.
A former NFL player inspired boys at the same school he once attended to aim high.
"I feel your pain. I understand your passion and I want you to dream and dream big, said Charles "Chuck" Alston.
"If he can do it, I know that I can do it coming from the same background," said 17-year-old Devin Mason.
Mason heard the empowering words from speakers at Central High School's "Men Making a Difference Day." The event at the Forestville, Maryland school attracted experts from a wide range of fields including politics, government, law, and entertainment.
"It's a powerful event for males to reclaim their masculinity," said 11th grader Carlos Quintanilla.
An effort was also created to give students like Quintanilla the confidence to achieve their goals. The 17-year-old who grew up in El Salvador and arrived in the United States just three years ago is now a flight commander in JROTC and maintains a 4.6-grade point average.
"One of the things that really inspired me about the previous speaker was the thing that he said about choosing the right people and also having a goal and having a plan," said Quintanilla.
Mason has a plan now but his freshman and sophomore years were filled with bad behavior and low grades. In his senior year, his GPA is up and he's preparing to graduate.
"It's a blessing to have all the young men come in and talk to us to provide information for us about life," said Mason.
Central High plans to make Men Making a Difference Day an annual event.