July 8, 2020

Dr. Gwen:         Hi, friends. Welcome to my channel. My name is Dr. Gwen and I'm a clinical psychologist who's obsessed with empowering disabled teens and adults and the amazing families and systems that support them. In this video, I interviewed Danielle or Dani Ryckman, Head of School at Fusion Academy in Pasadena, California. We get into Fusion's one-on-one teaching model, the importance of psychological safety and learning, how mentorship is equally as important as teaching, and how strongly Dani feels about the power of advocacy. Timestamps are in the description below. Okay. Let's do this.

                        Hi, Dani. How are you?

Dani:                I am doing as great as I can be given the world right now.

Dr. Gwen:         Yes, yes. Like, make it work. We're just making it work.

Dani:                Making it work. Yup.

Dr. Gwen:         Which is, you know what, for all the years I've known you, you like do that. You not only make it work, you like, make it really work. So, I cannot wait to talk about how your campus in Fusion is adapting. But maybe what we can do, because I know you, but this lovely audience does not know you, maybe you can just start with telling us about yourself.

Dani:                Happy to do so. So, I'm Dani Ryckman. I guess I would start with I'm a mom to two beautiful children, one of them who struggles with anxiety and ADHD, which has made being at Fusion really wonderful for me as I navigate that as a parent, supporting parents through so many different challenges and now having a whole community to support me as I support my child. I actually started with studying music, believe it or not. That is what I thought I was going to be was a musician. I still am a musician, but not doing that for a living. And I studied in community college, actually, for anyone local at Citrus Community College with the Citrus singers.

                        Got to travel all around the world and sing, and it was absolutely incredible. It's also where I realized I had an interest in working with kids of some sort, but I didn't know how yet. So, I went to Cal State, Northridge, got my BA in Child Development, Child and Adolescent Development, and then also a minor in Psych. And at CSUN, I met my mentor, my long-time mentor who really inspired me to do a lot more and got me really interested in this program at Harvard. And, me having come from community college because I didn't know 100% what I wanted to do yet and then going to a state school, I then ended up at Harvard Graduate School of Education where I was studying at-risk youth and prevention, and also school counseling, and had an incredible experience there, went into working in the non-public school world for a while, for almost six years, actually, and then I found Fusion. And that is when I really, really fell in love with education in a whole new way.

                        I've been with Fusion now for almost nine years, which is crazy, time just flies. I've been on the Fusion Pasadena Campus for almost four years now. And previously, I was in New Jersey running a school also associated with Fusion out there. And, before that, had opened the Los Gatos Campus. So, I've been really fortunate to have a lot of experience in education, in general, but specifically, at Fusion, which is so relationship-driven, the amount of connections I have made to just really spectacular humans, students, parents, professionals like yourself has been wonderful. So, I'm really happy with my journey so far.

Dr. Gwen:         Yeah. And you know what I love about doing these interviews is I think I know the lovely, amazing professionals that surround me. And then, I do these interviews and I'm like, "I didn't know that," and I love that. I love finding the little nuggets. Anyway, back to the regularly programmed show. Talk to us about Fusion, like, what is Fusion?

Dani:                It's a great question. So, Fusion is, ultimately, it's a relationship-based customized one-to-one educational experience. So, when students come to Fusion, they typically aren't really realizing their potential in the traditional school model and they're looking for a place where they're going to feel confident, comfortable with themselves, and really be able to feel the intrinsic motivation to be engaged in their learning, which our hope is that that creates the opportunity for them to become a lifelong learner.

                        Whenever I'm talking with students, I always say, "Would you want to go to a doctor who's about to prescribe you a medicine, who is not a lifelong learner, and who is not up to date with the current research, or a hairdresser who is going to cut your hair and doesn't know all the current trends and gives you the bowl cut from the '80s?" Although, I've got to say that the '80s are coming back so--

Dr. Gwen:         Coming back, coming back.

Dani:                So, maybe that's not a good example.

Dr. Gwen:         But we get it, but we get it. Yes, yeah. But that lifelong learning, that passion of curiosity, the passion for growth and development and edification, and --

Dani:                And finding their own path.

Dr. Gwen:         Yeah, yeah. That's such a big piece that I think Fusion as a model allows. It allows for there to be space to discover your own journey as a person and as a learner. Talk about maybe talking about how Fusion works. Okay. If we were back on campus, right?

Dani:                Mm-hmm.

Dr. Gwen:         Right. What does a typical day on a Fusion campus look like?

Dani:                So, first, I'm going to say I love the word "typical" because there's not a lot that is typical at Fusion because the point of Fusion is to be giving the customized experience and the flexibility that is going to match each student's needs. So, every student is going to have a slightly different schedule. It's kind of similar actually to being in college when you have the opportunity to choose what time you're taking your classes, and look at who the teachers are, and really have a little more say in your educational experience. But ultimately, I'll give a snapshot of a student who may be wants a more traditional school schedule, and they're coming to school and they're going to be going to each of their one-to-one classes. So, just them and their instructor in a classroom. And in between each of those 50-minute sessions, they go to our homework café. And the homework café is where they are doing their independent work.

                        I like to think of our homework café as the executive functioning hub of our school. It's the opportunity for students to really learn how do they manage their independent work on their own because a lot of students who are going off to college, if they've had a lot of support from their family, which is wonderful, or from tutors, or are only navigating the space within home, it can be a challenging transition going into college and all of a sudden, you're sharing a space in a dorm room and having to figure out how you're going to get all of your work done and focus.

                        And so, our goal is to really help students in our homework café to really explore that. So, they go--let's say they start with math. And from 9:30 until 10:20, they're in math. And then, they're going to be in homework café from 10:30 'til 11:30 doing the independent work for the class they were just in. So, it's fresh in their mind and they have an opportunity to really practice what they've just learned. And then, also, once they go to their next class, say their next class is English, then they're sitting with their one-to-one teacher for English. And then, 12:30 to 1:30 is lunch for all of campus.

                        So, this is where a lot of the social piece of our programming comes in. No students are in class. Students who have off-campus privileges can run and grab food. Most students though, now in the time of Postmates and Uber Eats, they're ordering food to campus and just hanging out with their friends, with clubs during lunch. And so, there's an opportunity for students really to connect. We also do a mandatory student meeting once a week for our full-time students, and they have the opportunity to present what they're learning because that I know is often a parent's concern of in this one-to-one model where they're getting that opportunity to share the work that they're doing or to speak with other students.

                        So, that really happens in the homework café and in the student meetings where the students will give presentations on what they're learning or things that they're passionate about, and also just get to participate in the community that is theirs. We really honor the student at the school. Our school exists for our students and we want them to be able to connect with one another and share and be a part of creating the environment that they're in. I mean, ultimately, students could come to school four days a week, they could come to school five days a week, three days a week. Really, they can build that schedule to fit whatever it is their needs are so that they can be the most successful they can and get the most out of the education.

Dr. Gwen:         Yeah, yeah. Dani, what constitutes a full-time student?

Dani:                So, a full-time student ultimately is taking three or four classes with us. So, that could mean that they are taking other classes through homeschool or through another program, or it could mean that they are literally with us full-time in the sense that they take all of their coursework with us.

Dr. Gwen:         Got it, got it. Yup, yup. We keep going back to this idea, and this is the cornerstone or the foundation of Fusion, which is a one-on-one teaching model, where really, the learner can really--you guys do this really good job of calibrating and pitching the lesson to the learner so that the learner is learning, right? I mean, and that's a good thing, I guess, for students, in general, to be learning.

Dani:                Should be the goal.

Dr. Gwen:         It should ideally be the goal. I mean, you even go one step further, which is not only are they learning, but because they're learning on this very meaningful dialed-in way that they come to love learning.

Dani:                That is--

Dr. Gwen:         And that love of learning--right, that love of learning leads to being a lifelong learner and having some curiosity of life and being in the world. The one-on-one teaching model is really good for many students and maybe not a good fit for some.

Dani:                No school is right for everyone.

Dr. Gwen:         Right, right.

Dani:                That is no question.

Dr. Gwen:         Yeah. So, maybe you can describe your in-the-pocket student, that student who when they meet Fusion and Fusion meets them, there is nothing else that happens but thriving. Describe that student.

Dani:                So, ultimately, I guess the overarching theme of that would be it's really any student that the traditional model is not speaking to them for whatever reason, and there are many different reasons that could be the case. And because of that, they're not as engaged or realizing their potential within school, and they want to learn, and they want to be invested in their education, but what I hear from a lot of students is they just don't--they're not feeling the why, and therefore, not feeling that personal motivation to do the work that they need to do.

                        And so, helping a student like that to get engaged and feel empowered about their own education can make such a huge difference and take a student who maybe is barely passing or not passing to being a straight-A student who's getting into the college of their dreams or paving their own path. And so, that student can look very different depending on where they're coming from. So, that student could be a student that has had medical issues and has been in and out of school and has had trouble having a consistent school schedule. It could be a student that has a learning difference and they've gotten the support and the remediation with regards to the learning difference, but the school that they're in maybe just isn't catered to presenting the material in a way that they learn best. And so, it's harder for them to stay checked in.

                        That student could be a student who is already a professional athlete or actor and is traveling all over the place and is trying to balance the importance of their education and that foundation with their passions and their dreams that they're already starting to realize. That student could be a student that is a homeschool student, that is looking to have more interaction. So, really, that umbrella, it encompasses so many different types of students and from so many different walks of life.

                        So, it's very challenging to say that there's one particular need. We're not a special education school, we're not a specialized school for a specific type of student or a specific need, we are there for the students who are going to benefit and do well in a one-to-one environment. And so, we look really closely at making sure that students will find success and are personally engaged. I mean, we don't accept a student unless they're willing to be at the school and to give it a try. Parents can't force their kids to come to Fusion because that willingness to be invested in their own experience is critical to our school being successful for them.

Dr. Gwen:         Yeah, absolutely. And I think it's a good place to start when you talk about--"Oh, if traditional schooling, that structure traditional schooling isn't working, we're an option." It's an option, and then to see, and then to move from there. There's something that I would love to do a deeper dive with, especially in regards to Fusion, is this idea of you guys being very relationally focused. Right? So, talk to me about that. Describe what you mean by that. What does it mean to have a relational environment or a relational focus as a cornerstone of your school environment and program?

Dani:                Yeah, absolutely. So, to start, our teachers are teachers and mentors. Their title is teacher and mentor. Because we really want to be honoring the whole person in the classroom, we find often that when students don't feel comfortable in their environment or don't feel liked even by either their teachers or their peers, they're not able to really bring their authentic selves to school, which keeps them from being able to learn as much as they possibly could. There's a lot of risk involved in learning. You have to fail a little bit because you don't know. And to be an environment that allows students the ability to fully explore their education, they have to be comfortable being vulnerable and be comfortable being themselves.

                        And so, our teachers really approach the classroom as who are you, and what's important to you, and what are your passions, and how do we find a way to connect what you're learning here, whatever the subject is, to who you are and your goals, and the things that you feel passionate about. And so, the teacher really knows the student, and it's a lot less scary to make a mistake if you know the teacher knows you're capable of doing this, and cares about you, and wants you to be successful, and likes you, quite frankly. And then, you're going to be able to take those risks.

                        And so, the teachers do spend a good amount of time making sure--and that starts in the process with me. When I meet with a student, I give them as much information as I can about who that student is and what their personal goals are. But then, the teacher gets to know that even better, and then they can customize the way they deliver material, where they put their focus, how they connect with their learning to what that student's future goals are, and that's really what it means to be relationship-based. There's a give and take. The student is as important in the classroom as the teacher is. And our teachers often say, "We learn as much as the students learn in the classroom because the students have unique things to bring and teach us as well."

Dr. Gwen:         Yeah. And so, there's this really meeting of collaboration, respect for relationship that's established. I've been on your campus. I know your campus quite well and--

Dani:                I know you do.

Dr. Gwen:         --I can say that you guys walk the walk.

Dani:                Thank you.

Dr. Gwen:         And I see that because there's a deep sense of caring for your students as people, and that is really awesome. There is this sense of establishing psychological safety, and you talked about that. If you're psychologically safe and emotionally safe, then that frees us up to be expansive, it frees us to take risks, it frees us to be vulnerable, and being vulnerable is the only place where we make change. And you're right to say education and learning inevitably is scary. There's scary parts to that. And so, what do we do when we're scared, right? So, we want people to be expansive when they're learning, not closed off. And so, your one-on-one model really allows for that to happen. Dani, if you think about other schools, because there are other schools out there that have one-on-one models, right?

Dani:                Yup.

Dr. Gwen:         We don't have to mention them, but what do you think sets Fusion apart though? Like, why choose Fusion as a place that offers that one-on-one format? What is that secret sauce of Fusion, if you will? Do you have words for that?

Dani:                Yeah. I mean, I think there are a number of things, but really what it comes down to is what we were just talking about is the relationship-based model. And the culture of our community is really focused around love, and acceptance, and helping students really discover who they are so that they know even what the next steps are going to be. So, I really think it's the people and it's the relationships. Our goal is that anyone, whether it's a student, a prospective family, a professional, someone off the street wondering who we are, if they walk onto our campus that they feel welcome, and they feel comfortable, and they feel like this is a fun place that they want to be, and that they feel inspired, that they look around and they see people that reflect things about themselves, but that also are going to give them a chance to learn something new. So, I'm really proud of our really diverse staff that come from so many different backgrounds and really allow our students to see themselves reflected in multiple different people and in multiple different ways and open up the doors to discovering something new, too.

Dr. Gwen:         Yeah, yeah, which is so awesome. There's kind of this like very dynamic thing that happens between your staff and your students, which is really cool. And that really speaks to relationship because both people are impacted by a relationship, it's not just one way. And so, to see students as also contributors, also changers, also influencers, is a really super, I think, cool thing.

Dani:                Yeah.

Dr. Gwen:         Okay.

Dani:                It's pretty awesome. I love it.

Dr. Gwen:         It's pretty awesome, and I think you're right when you hop on that campus, the first thing you see is a welcome sign on your campus. If there's a new student, they're being welcomed right away, right when you walk in and open that door, you see their name. It's pretty darn cool. Okay. We're going to talk about the different types of students that may be a good fit for Fusion. And obviously, this is so dynamic that there's a very--I know you guys are very careful about what students you might accept because you want to make sure that it's good for the student. You want to make sure they are going to thrive in that environment.

                        Let's fast forward a little bit or do a little bit of future crystal balling. You've had some of these already, so it's not bad. It's not even that magical in the sense of predicting something you haven't seen. But if you could put words to it, what would be the picture of a Fusion graduate? What do they look like and what do you--what do you hope they leave Fusion with?

Dani:                I mean, a strong sense of themselves, but I think that if I were to really boil it down to one thing that encompasses everything, I think they're strong advocates. The reason I say that--I mean, advocacy is something that's very important to us on our campus because everyone has needs and everyone's needs are unique, whether you are a gifted student or a student that's struggling with a learning difference, we all have different needs. And to be able to be a strong advocate, you have to know yourself, you have to know what your needs are and be introspective in that way. You have to have a certain amount of confidence and comfort and communication. And also, being a strong advocate allows students to be able to really pave their own way and not get stuck, feeling like there's not a road for them, really opening up that sense of self-efficacy. There is a place for you in the world and where maybe there's not a clear door through advocacy, you can create one.

                        And I think when our alumni come back to campus, what I hear over and over again is, "Man, I see all my friends and they're so scared to talk to their professors and they don't go to the office hours, but we're so comfortable talking to our teachers and being able to ask for what we need." Being an advocate doesn't necessarily mean you always get the needs met in the way that you'd like, but if you're not advocating, you may never. And so, really having students go out with a good sense of who they are, and what their needs are, and what they need to be able to be successful.

Dr. Gwen:         Yeah. How beautiful is that? You realize how important communication is and how complex I think communication is, right?

Dani:                No doubt.

Dr. Gwen:         Hey, Dani, how do people usually get to Fusion? Short of googling, help me, please, traditional school's networking. How do people usually get to Fusion?

Dani:                Yeah. Well, I mean, there are a number of different ways. We are really passionate on our campus about making sure that we are very knowledgeable of the resources that are available to our community and our families, which is why we put so much time and investment in knowing amazing professionals like yourself, who are working with these families and these students, and really know what they need to be successful. So, a lot of times, families are finding us through other families that they're speaking with or from the professionals that they're working with that are saying, "Given everything you're working on, I think this is the kind of place you need to be."

                        That being said, we also do have, even though we are not a special education school, we do sometimes have students qualify through the special education programming within their school districts to come to Fusion. So, we do have students that are actually directly placed by school districts, and also who maybe have gone through a mediation and are getting reimbursed for Fusion. And then, we also, in the last two years, now have a scholarship foundation. So, we have students finding us and being able to attend Fusion with a full scholarship, which is really exciting. We've had two full scholarship students on our campus in the two years since we've had the foundation and it's really incredible. And our goal is to just keep expanding on that so that the students that need us can access us.

Dr. Gwen:         Yeah. And that does add diversity to your population as well, right?

Dani:                Absolutely.

Dr. Gwen:         And that is so awesome to make this model accessible because the model, because it's one-on-one teaching, I mean, you are with a credentialed teacher, right?

Dani:                Well, our teachers, some of them are credentialed teachers who have an extensive teaching background. Since we're a private school and given our unique model, we are really looking for a specific type of teacher. So, they all have different backgrounds, definitely at least a bachelor's degree in what they're teaching many with masters and PhDs as well. But what we're really looking for is not only someone that has subject area expertise, but who truly themselves is a lifelong learner and is passionate about learning. And because of that, you end up with teachers who have so many different interests. And also, you need someone who reads.

                        When you're sitting one to one in a classroom with a student, if that student isn't connecting with you, it's not going to be successful. And so, we need teachers who really know how to make a connection and communicate with teenagers and really genuinely care about them. So, the teachers range from engineers who have been an engineer by trade their entire lives and recently made a switch to education, to teachers who have been teaching in more traditional classrooms their whole lives and were looking for something different. So, it's a big mix. They're all definitely highly qualified, but not necessarily with a teaching credential.

Dr. Gwen:         Yup, got it. They have the soft skills, if you will, that build relationships first with the content of course coming. I do know that many of your classes though and many of the classes you do offer do count for graduation diploma track. So, people don't need to really worry about that if they need those classes to count.

Dani:                We are a WASC-accredited program. Our curriculum is based on state standards and UC-approved classes. So, our students get the traditional education in the sense that they're getting credit the same way they would in any other school. We have honors courses that are weighted. And really, they have an opportunity on a transcript to look like any other student from any other school, and that is backed up through accreditation and otherwise. But what they also get are the life skills and the wellness approach, really knowing how to care for themselves and how to interact with other people, and how to really be themselves so that--

                        I know at least in my generation, so many of my friends went to college because they were so focused in school and they went to the college that their parents went to, or that their friends went to, or where they think they're supposed to go, or because they liked the name of the college, and not necessarily chose the best place for themselves because they weren't really focused on themselves necessarily. And then, so many of them are not using the degrees that they earned. They then discovered themselves through college and after college and figured out where they want to go. Our goal is that students have a head start there. They really know a lot more about themselves going into college, so they are choosing the right college for them, and they really are owning that entire experience as theirs and customized.

Dr. Gwen:         Well, and I know that you guys offer classes during that senior year that really facilitate the insight for the skills, for maybe the competencies or the areas they'll need to think about as they leave Fusion. So, I do know that you guys have been very thoughtful about transition and launch. So, that is definitely a part of your program, and I think that's such an important piece to help because I think that needs to be--there needs to be some formality to that, there needs to be some prompting and some structure and some encouragement. Young people don't know what kinds of questions to ask about their future versus those of us that have a lot of life experience, decades and decades of life experience maybe.

Dani:                I don't know what you're talking about. I just turned 20, so--

Dr. Gwen:         Yes. You do look like you just turned 20.

Dani:                Times two.

Dr. Gwen:         Yes. But there needs to be some guidance there, at least prompts to spotlight something or to highlight something just so we can promote some insight and some self-reflection and introspection. So, I love those classes. I'm like a rubber meets the road kind of gal. Yeah. Go ahead, Dani.

Dani:                Also, just to add one other little piece is because our program is so flexible, we also look at--let's say we have a student that started with us in middle school and is going to be graduating their senior year with us. They've been for a while out of a larger traditional classroom. And so, for that student, we might recommend that in their junior or senior year, that they maybe take a course at a community college to start preparing for what--if they're looking at going to a larger school, to start preparing for what it's going to feel like to be in a larger classroom. So, if it's not something that we provide or that students get out of our experience and it's something that we know they're going to need to be successful, then we partner with a community to make sure that all of those needs are being met.

Dr. Gwen:         Yeah. The bottom line is there's a thoughtfulness, right? There's a thoughtfulness behind a plan, and there is a plan, and therefore, the time that they spent there has intention. And so, that's so lovely because you guys are so attentive, I think. It's just another piece to your program. So, we touched upon this just a little bit, but I think it's important to talk about accessibility. From a funding perspective, you would mention that some students can get to you through a school-district funding, mediations, hearings, etcetera. What are some of the other ways that students--oh, and scholarship now, that's a new funding stream that's new.

Dani:                Yay.

Dr. Gwen:         Yay. Apart from that, Dani, are most students getting to you through private means? Is there something that I'm missing there?

Dani:                No. Most are coming then through private means. Within that, there are lots of ways that we can customize to fit within a family's budget, whether it'd be looking at partial homeschool, partial Fusion, but Fusion being maybe the main school still or looking at--there are a lot of educational loan programs. And also, a lot of our families, when they're in the situation where they have a student that they've been saving up money for college and they have a fund for that, but their child isn't thriving in high school and it's looking less and less clear whether that option or that dream is going to be able to become a reality, a lot of our families look at when maybe it's time to utilize that funding to build this foundation so that future is possible. And so, there are a lot of different ways that families will make that work depending on their situation.

Dr. Gwen:         Yeah. That's good. And you guys have been in lots of different situations. So, again, the creativity shines here as well, not only in the curriculum planning, but also in how do you access your program that you guys--you just need to have a dialogue with you, really. It sounds like, "Have a dialogue."

Dani:                That's where it starts because we say to every family, "We're not going to let you leave empty-handed. If Fusion isn't right for you for whatever reason, you are going to leave with all the resources you can possibly handle to make sure that you find the right thing for your child," because it's just not easy as a parent. I mean, being a parent of a child in special education myself, it's really hard to navigate. And I'm someone who's in education. But when it's your own child, it's really, really challenging to navigate. And so, I always just tell families. It never hurts to just come talk because you're not going to leave empty-handed even if our school isn't the right fit at this time.

Dr. Gwen:         Yeah, yeah. And I'll definitely--I mean, in regards to anyone who's interested in seeing if there's a Fusion in their area, I'll leave the link and everything in the description below so that people can figure out because there's campuses all over.

Dani:                There are.

Dr. Gwen:         How many campuses do you have now?

Dani:                There's over 50 campuses now. When I started and I was opening the Los Gatos Campus, I think I was campus number 11. And, here we are, there's over 50 campuses all over, all over the United States. And then, we also are launching our fully virtual program. I know we're virtual right now, so not to be confused for our need to be virtual during these times, but the Fusion Global program where students from all over the world can access Fusion virtually in that one-to-one customized way. So, there are options in the brick and mortar schools across the country, and then also now, this virtual option.

Dr. Gwen:         Yeah. That is awesome. Is that a newer thing, Fusion Global?

Dani:                It is, it is. It's brand new and it's been in the works for quite some time as more and more students go that route. And man, it is good timing that we had all of that already in motion and in place, and our accreditation had allowed us to be able to do everything virtually. So, we were already on our campus teaching classes virtually for students who needed it if a student was traveling or their parent was traveling and they wanted to go with their parent for work. They could be continuing without skipping a beat all of their classes virtually, and it allowed for a really smooth transition for us because we already had everything in place.

                        So, really, just connect with us in so many different ways now. And our goal is just to continue to increase that accessibility, both with regards to the online side, and also financially as we continue to grow the foundation and hope to be able to--really, Fusion is set out to revolutionize education and to show what education can look like for students and really help all students to be able to feel successful.

Dr. Gwen:         That is awesome. That's so exciting. That's such exciting information. Okay. So, Dani, I always end my interviews this way, which is if you could only choose one skill to empower in your students, what would it be and why?

Dani:                So, I think I've already answered it. I think it's advocacy. I mean, it encompasses everything for me. There's a self-acceptance in that and an emotional security that comes along with being able to advocate for yourself, there's a confidence, there's a knowing yourself on a very deep level and making sure that the sky's the limit. You create the path that is going to work for you and I think that is--there are so many things, so, so many things. I think even compassion gets rolled into that, and empathy because recognizing yourself as separate, with separate needs from someone else also involves then recognizing other people as separate with different needs than yourself. And I think if you really are achieving the ability to advocate for yourself, there's even an empathy component to that that is something that's so important for the world, especially these days. And our students go out ready to take on the world. In fact, this graduation, I've never been more proud. This generation is going to make sure that we're okay, things are scary now and so much going on, but I have full faith in this generation, that they are going to be the difference we need.

Dr. Gwen:         Agreed, agreed. There is a lot of hope. Yes, there is a lot of hope there. For sure. Thank you, Dani.

Dani:                Yeah. Thank you. This is so fun.

Dr. Gwen:         So fun. I'm so glad.

Dani:                Yeah! I’m excited to be able to support people and connect people to what's going to what’s going to work for them.

Dr. Gwen:         Absolutely.

Dani:                And everybody deserves that, especially every student.

Dr. Gwen:         Yeah, absolutely. I mean, and we empower through information, and we empower through--maybe promoting some insight, or maybe making the connection where, "Wow, there's a Fusion that exists? Wow, I need that!" But thank you so much, Dani, for spending time with me today.

Dani:                Thank you so much. Always a pleasure and happy to support anytime.

Dr. Gwen:         Thank you.

                        Thanks for watching. I hope this interview with Dani helped bring some insight that can lead to meaningful actions. Contact information for Fusion Academy is in the description below where you'll also find a link for the transcript of this entire interview. If you got any value from this interview, please hit that Like button and subscribe to this channel where my goal is to empower through connection, inspiration, and transformation. See you in the next video and thanks for watching.