TRAVERSE CITY -- Radiating optimism and a can-do energy, Bill Schramm is a long way from a jail cell, dropping out of high school, addiction and homelessness.
After spending his early teenage years on his own taking care of himself, by age 17 he was ejected from foster care when he went to jail. There, through force of will, a determined positive outlook and crucial help along the way, Schramm transcended his experiences.
Now 23, he is a college student and motivational speaker who runs his own disc jockey business, Stylish Sounds. Taking his dedication to help other youth to the next level, Schramm will set out around Feb. 1 on a nationwide, three-month speaking tour.
Dubbed "Billapalooza -- Drive for Excellence," after a kickoff in Traverse City he will crisscross the United States giving motivational speeches to disconnected or disadvantaged youth. Still booking dates, Schramm, who serves on local, state and national advisory councils relating to foster care issues, will also tailor his talk to agencies and care providers.
Raising money to cover the estimated $19,250 budget, Schramm has partnered in fundraising with the United Way of Northwest Michigan as the fiduciary agent.
"Literally the opportunities just fell into place and I've never said no to an opportunity," said Schramm, who just completed his degree at Northwestern Michigan College and will study business next fall at Western Michigan University.
"I'll be speaking about how they can turn their life around, because I've been there," he added. "When you live life as I did you have a whole different scope."
Understandably angry from his difficult childhood, Saturday visitation times at the county jail more than five years ago sparked Schramm's change. Convicted of two felonies for larceny, he watched children of fellow prisoners struggle to understand why their dads were incarcerated.
Something clicked from those agonizing scenes.
"Every Saturday, I saw the kids on the other side of the glass, crying," said Schramm, who decided then that he never wanted his future children to experience such pain.
To avoid that, he had to clean up his life and turn it around. So Schramm began doing just that.
"I lived that victim lifestyle, 'the world owes me something,' but I've had right now five or five and a half years of being clean and not doing illegal things," Schramm said.
One of the many adults along the way who have made a difference is Ron Jolly, Schramm's mentor for about the past three years. The young man's irrepressible optimism and action-oriented outlook have made an impression on Jolly, who told Schramm that he had an entrepreneurial disposition.
In fact, Billapalooza is totally in character for Schramm, in terms of conception, scope and execution. A natural leader, Schramm also completed the Leadership Grand Traverse Program in 2008, as the youngest participant ever to do so. Creating and funding a complex speaking tour, which will be filmed for a documentary, is just another to do list for him.
"It's rewarding to see him discover a different way to approach life and just go out there and tackle it," Jolly said. "He's not done everything perfectly but he goes right after it. He jumps on things, he does not sit around like the rest of us would do."
Bottom line for Schramm is that while he's the centerpiece of Billapalooza, the story is not about him.
It is about the youth he wants to reach and the adults who can help them. It's about the adults who made the effort and helped him: a couple welcoming him into their home, a mentor listening and guiding, local business owners believing in him.
"It's a community story," Schramm said.
For more information on Schramm or to help support Billapalooza, call (231) 645-0322 or visit his Web site at www.billschramm.com.
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