On Friday April 25, three time Emmy winner, Anthony Wilkinson came to Colonia High School to tell his story. But more importantly, he told of how he overcame adversity and turned his life around.
Anthony Wilkinson grew up in Staten Island, New York and when he was in just the 8th grade, he was severely bullied for being different. The bullying got so bad that it led him to attempt suicide. Fortunately, he failed and from that day forward got the help he needed from a teacher and his family. Anthony spent a year being homeschooled before returning to his freshman year of high school. When he got to high school, he made some great friends and met some wonderful people that helped him get his life back on track and helped him become the man he is today.
After finishing high school with the best SAT scores in his class, Wilkinson went to New York University (NYU). He received a scholarship to NYU and began attending classes when he was just sixteen. He majored in English so that he could attend arts classes while still keeping his scholarship at the school.
Through the school, Wilkinson received an internship working at ABC on the show “One Life To Live.” He went on to work there for fourteen years moving up through the ranks. During his stay with the show, they won three Emmys. One was for being a part of the directing team and two for editing.
After leaving ABC, Wilkinson got into writing his own plays and strived to get them produced off Broadway. It took him several years, but now he directs three plays being produced off Broadway and acts in them all as well.
Anthony Wilkinson was brought to Colonia through his friend and guidance counselor Mrs. Dinicola. She felt that his story needed to be heard for all students who are either bullied, seen bullying, or partake in bullying. Once Wilkinson agreed to come, Mrs. Dinicola told Superintendent Dr. Zega the importance of allowing Wilkinson to come speak and without hesitation he agreed to let him.
Wilkinson spoke to the entire school on the morning of the 25th and encouraged students who are bullied to persevere because things will get better. After a speech about what he had went through, a short Q&A session followed. Wilkinson spent the rest of the day in the school speaking to students individually as well as going into some classrooms to not only talk about being bullied but also about his career. He told students that they were all welcome to friend him on Facebook and contact him if they ever needed someone to talk to.
Jessica Morley stated, “I liked how he was so straight forward. His advice seemed more realistic and more helpful to those who need it.” Many students appreciated that Wilkinson didn’t sugarcoat things.
Other students felt compassion for his shared experience and were inspired by how he over came this obstacle. Freshman Patrycjia Pajdak stated, “I think his story was very relatable. He was comforting and understanding to those who are going through what he went through.”
