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Westside High School
Saturday May 10, 2025
1:00-4:00 pm
$10 (adults) | $5 (students) | All metro area welcome 
 

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Improve your performance, mindset, and mental health. Get tips and information from experts and enjoy break-out activities including performance snacks & yoga.

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A great opportunity for students, parents, coaches, and directors wishing to excel in academics, athletics and the performing arts.  

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  • 12:30-3:00pm:  Local Vendor and Resource Booths

  • 1:00-1:50pm:    Dr. Larry Widman - Grit and Performance Mindset

  • 2:00-2:30pm:   Break-out Session 

  • 2:35-3:05pm:    Break-out Session

  • 3:10-4:00pm:    Dr. Kate Higgins - Building the Performance Pyramid​

Event Schedule

Keynote Speakers

Dr. Larry Widman 
Grit & Performance Mindset 

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Session Topic: Dr Widman will be discussing the key ingredients to maxing out your mind which include the 4C’s of an elite mindset. The concept of GRIT will be introduced as it relates to the development of mental resilience and the ability to handle setbacks. He will also be sharing the 2 key features that lead to Ultimate Trust within a team. All of these lead to individuals/teams in life or sport, to be able to be in the best position to max out when it matters the most. 

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Bio: Dr. Larry Widman has over 25 years of experience as a psychiatrist and nearly 20 years as a high-performance mindset coach. He works with CEOs, corporations, professional athletes, military leaders, Olympians, and multiple NCAA and high school teams. Dr. Widman has been integral in achieving nine college and professional national championships and numerous high school championships. He has also helped dozens of teams max out when it matters most.

Dr. Kate Higgins
Performance Psychology
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Session Topic: This session will cover skills to support high performance through daily wellness behaviors, emotional regulation, attentional control, and elite performance skills. 

 

Bio: Dr. Kate Higgins is a Sport Neuropsychologist at the Craze Concussion Institute. Higgins served as an Athletic Neuropsychologist with the Nebraska Athletic Department from 2019-2025. Prior to coming to Nebraska, Higgins ran a concussion/traumatic brain injury clinic with Sanford Orthopedic and Sports Medicine.
 
Originally from Beatrice, Neb., Higgins earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and theology from Fresno Pacific University in 2006. She then earned a master’s degree in Experimental Psychology from Fresno State in 2009 before earning a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis on Neuropsychology from Forest Institute in 2015. Higgins did a two-year fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology at Nebraska's CB3 and UNMC in 2017.

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Breakout Session Options


Performance Psychology & Mental Wellness with the
Performing Arts 
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with Becca Jackson-Cusick,
Owner of BIG Studio
 

​Becca Jackson Cusick is a passionate theatre artist and educator who empowers others be BIG, BRAVE, and BOLD - on stage and off. 

Pursuing a life as a theatre artist and musician, Becca earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and a Master of Arts in Teaching, which afforded her the opportunity to turn her vocation into her occupation. Over the past twenty years, she has consistently worked as a theatre artist by producing, directing, and performing in theatrical productions in educational settings, community theatres, at the Rose Theatre, as well as with Opera Omaha. 

Becca is a Nebraska Thespian Outstanding Educator and Nebraska High School Theatre Academy Outstanding Educator. These honors are awarded to Theatre Educators who have not only produced outstanding shows but also have built classrooms that cultivate courage, authenticity, vulnerability, excellence, and growth. 

Becca is the owner of BIG Studio Omaha (bigstudioomaha.com), West Omaha's newest and fastest growing performing arts studio, and is the founding Executive Director and President of Boldly Inspiring Greatness (B.I.G.), a non-profit founded to build confidence and community through the performing arts. 

Becca is gifted in working with students of all ages and thrives when working with artists who are eager to grow in their skills as performers in addition to in their resilience and adaptability as humans.

Becca is passionate about musical theatre and education, and ultimately desires to inspire others to live an authentic life, be the best version of themselves, and become the person that they were created to be. 

Power Snacks  
Stay tuned for more details!

Yoga and Performance Wellness

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with Susan DeJong
Owner of Omaha
Power Yoga

Suzanne DeJong is a mom, small business owner, and Mindset Coach. She helps those who want it get more ease and enjoyment out of life via healthy posture, perspective & coping skills, as well as mobility & strength. 

A student of yoga for over 20 years, teacher and coach for 15 years, Suzanne owns Omaha Power Yoga at 144th & Maple. She is committed to helping people understand the connection between thought, emotion, and physical feels because it drives our behavior - we act how we feel. She believes no one is untouched by trauma. Whether “little t” or “big T,” traumas impact how we navigate experiences and relationships. 

Her humor and light-heartedness is uplifting and encouraging. Her guiding principles are sincerity, acceptance, safety, boundaries, curiosity, and awareness. When working with her you can expect to have fun amidst the challenges, and find strength and steadiness you didn't realize you had.

Academic Success and Transition

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with Dr. Abby Bjornsen-Ramig

Dr. Abby Bjornsen has over 12 years of experience as a licensed psychologist and graduate professor in counseling and career development. She provides instruction, clinical supervision, and professional mentorship to graduate students obtaining a degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in the Department of Counseling at the University of Nebraska Omaha. Dr. Bjornsen has been integral in creating strong community partnerships within Omaha and surrounding communities to train future counselors in a variety of settings to serve a diverse range of clients. 

Questions? Email Zach Maloley at maloley.zachary@westside66.net

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