“The Illusionist” Tom Coverly Entertains and Educates Audience of 2,200 WTHS Students
Click here for a photo gallery of Tom Coverly's visit.
“I love making people laugh and entertaining them with illusions,” said Tom Coverly, aka “The Illusionist,” to an audience of 2,200 Washington Township High School students gathered on October 9th for a Week of Respect assembly. “I love the sleight of hand, the misdirection and that skill that comes from years of practicing my craft. But what I really am passionate about is reality and the truth.”
Coverly, a professional comedian, illusionist and motivational speaker, spent two days and visited 10 Washington Township schools delivering the message of forgiveness, inclusion and respect when forming “right relationships,” to audiences of all grade levels. His appearance was sponsored by the The Youth Alliance (www.theyouthalliance.com) as part of its “Heroes and Mentors” program and financially supported through a donation by the Washington Township Municipal Alliance. Coverly, a native of Camden, N.J and a graduate of Eastern High School, is in the middle of a three-week, 55-school assembly tour. Over the past decade, he has entertained and educated more than three million students.
After enlisting several of their peers and wowing the audience with a few of his magic tricks, Coverly pivoted to speak to the group about a different illusion, holding up magazine covers with photoshopped supermodels and buff athletes.
“You want to see a real illusion?” he asked. “This is the real illusion because nobody looks like this. These people spent days in a room with perfect lighting and makeup. Professional photographers took hundreds of pictures, and one picture was selected and manipulated further until it eventually became this magazine cover. Why are we believing the illusion of the cover of a magazine? You are measuring your worth by a lie. You are letting other people define you, and you are letting magazines define what it perfect.”
Instead, Coverly explained, it is better to define your worth by learning to respect yourself and to respect others. The process of bolstering that respect comes from learning that degrading words and comments directed toward others hurt for a long time and that hurt can only be erased through an apology.
“When your walk out that door today, you get another chance to live differently,” he said. “You can apologize and make amends to someone you may have mistreated. You can stand up for someone who is isolated and not included. You can make a difference in someone’s day, every day, by being real, by giving your word and making a commitment to treat yourself and others with respect.”
For that to happen, it’s not a sleight of hand, but a change of heart.
“The Illusionist” Tom Coverly spent several minutes prior to the assembly learning a trick from magic enthusiast and WTHS sophomore Nathaniel Clark, aka “Nate the Great.”
WTHS guest speaker Tom Coverly performs a trick with sophomore Sebastian Vergani.
WTHS freshman Sam Carbone (left) and senior Greg Rossi assisted in one of Tom Coverly’s illusions.