Wolverhampton prisoner worker who shed six stone visits Darlaston school to pass on his inspirational tips
A prison worker who shed six stone has visited a school to share his top tips on achieving success.
Del Shemar, from Wolverhampton, visited students at Grace Academy Darlaston, Walsall, to share his secrets.
Del shed an incredible six stone after reaching a weight of more than 17 stone and deciding something needed to change.
At the age of 47 he embarked on a gruelling fitness regime to get his weight down, including doing more than 6,000 press-ups back in January.
He left school with poor qualifications but made a decision to turn his life around and studied part-time to achieve a master’s degree in criminal justice and then a PGCE in literacy to become a qualified teacher.
After gaining his qualifications, he worked for HM Prison Brinsford, a male Young Offenders Institution in Featherstone, South Staffordshire, and now works for the prison service full time. Explaining why he goes into schools to inspire students, Del said: “I want students to know they shouldn’t be afraid of failure and should never give up. Students come to school to learn and should work hard and give it their all, revising for their exams, and believing in themselves no matter what.”
Asked about his advice to students he said: “Don’t ever quit or ever ring the bell to signal you want to quit. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. There are 86,400 seconds in every day so don’t waste them but use them to work towards your dreams. Everything I’ve ever achieved, I was always prepared to fail at.”
After hearing the inspirational talk, year 12 student Ben Hughes said: “It’s been inspirational and has motivated me to work harder and as hard as I can. I definitely want to achieve my dream now, and then set another dream and achieve that. I want to be a child psychologist and feel confident now that I can achieve it.”
Year 13 student Hajrar Ikhlaq, added: “It’s been enlightening and encouraging to know that even if you don’t get the grades you want, there are still opportunities out there. It’s been a big motivation, especially around exam season.”
Del’s six key steps for success are: Don’t ever ring the bell, don’t fear failure, find a passion, have a plan, work like hell and give back.