“Beautiful Tomorrow” Assembly brings energy, inspiration to Barren County Middle School

GLASGOW, Ky. – Students at Barren County Middle School spent Thursday afternoon dancing, clapping and listening to a message of hope during a visit from the national Beautiful Tomorrow Assembly.

Led by Jason Lewis, a performer and motivational speaker who goes by Humble Tip, the program combines music, theater and storytelling to encourage students to stay positive about their futures.

“We saw that there was a drought in young people receiving positive information in a cool and culturally relevant way,” Lewis said. “So we decided, let’s talk their TikTok language, their social media language, infuse theater and music, and hopefully we can give them the same message teachers have been giving them forever… just in a different rapping, no pun intended.”

Lewis, who grew up outside Washington, D.C., has taken the assembly to schools across the country, reaching more than half a million students over the past eight years. He said rural communities like Barren County often benefit most.

“Oftentimes small towns, young people feel overlooked and they feel alone,” Lewis said. “So when that kid who’s been struggling with self-perception and their identity is able to be affirmed and given some positivity, it means the world.”

Principal Joey Bunch said the program’s impact was clear almost immediately.

“The excitement is buzzing through the hallways,” Bunch said. “Our eighth graders that were here this morning are still talking about it. Seventh graders are leaving talking about it. You could just see the bond that he’s made with them in an hour and a half, how they’ve really latched on and listened to everything he’s saying about their future, about their ‘beautiful tomorrow.’”

Bunch said the assembly also stood out for its energy, managing to keep students engaged for the entire program.

“People asked, ‘How do you keep seventh and eighth graders focused for an hour and a half?’ But he did an extraordinary job,” Bunch said. “Not only were the kids locked in, but teachers were dancing and smiling right alongside them.”

For Bunch, the biggest takeaway is a reminder to students that their future matters.

“We really want them to take away that the impact is not just today,” he said. “Their futures matter. They matter. And they mean a lot to us here at Barren County Middle School.”

For more information about the assembly and its impact visit their website at BeautifulTomorrowAssembly.com.