Incoming Scholarship recipients break through the beliefs holding them back
June 25, 2026
Incoming Scholarship recipients identified the thoughts standing in their way, wrote them on a wooden board, then smashed through them with a karate strike at this year’s Celebration Summit.
This activity centered on limiting beliefs, or the thoughts that hold students back, and it challenged them to push through those literally and figuratively. The goal was to empower students to do the same once they go to college this fall.
Brian Durbin, executive director of the Center for Intentionality, led the activity and described how our minds race with thoughts about ourselves, the people around us and the world, and how those thoughts can hurt us. A solution is connecting your mind and body to the present moment and pushing past those ideas, he said.
“You will not break through a limiting belief by sitting in your dorm room wondering what to do,” Brian said. “You will by going out there and engaging with life in action.”
In small groups, incoming recipients identified limiting beliefs and wrote them on wooden boards. Christopher Morgan, owner of Welead Martial Arts, demonstrated how to break through that board with a palm heel strike and a “Kiai!” an explosive shout.
A representative from each group came on stage and read one of the limiting beliefs written on the board: “I’m not doing enough,” “I’m never going to be ready,” “I always assume the worst” and “I’m not going to do well in my classes.”
The crowd cheered as recipients split the boards and demolished their limiting beliefs.
