Discover You™ | Courage. Confidence. Connection.
We help students tackle challenges, build resilience, care for their wellbeing, and grow their academic success
by increasing their courage, confidence, and connection.
Mission
To build hope and resilience in youth based on a foundation of acceptance, support, and respect that results in positive life choices.
Vision
All youth have the opportunity to live their potential.
Discover You™ Helps Youth
- Build mental and emotional wellbeing
- Navigate their unique and personal journey
- Increase external and internal assets
- Makepositive life choices
- Improve academic performance and outcomes
- Support suicide prevention
- Develop high functioning job skills
What is Discover You™?
Discover You™ Certified Coaches in the Great Lakes Bay Region provide direct service, in-school programming that helps students build essential 21st-century skills including communication, teamwork, leadership, goal setting, and self-management. Through interactive lessons, guided reflection, and real-world application, the program empowers young people to better understand who they are, recognize their strengths, make positive choices, and plan for their future with confidence.
To extend its reach and advance the vision of supporting every child, everywhere, Discover You™ also trains and certifies educators and youth-serving adults around the globe to implement its evidence-informed curriculum within their classrooms, Out-of-School Time programs, and local communities.
As one of two core pillars of The ROCK Center for Youth Development, Discover You™ is part of a Michigan-based nonprofit founded in 2001 operating under the legal name Reaching Our Community Kids. The ROCK was established to provide safe, positive, and enriching environments for teens, grounded in a belief that every young person deserves acceptance, support, and the opportunity to reach their full potential. Utilizing Discover You™ concepts and curriculum, The ROCK supports thousands of youth each year in developing self-awareness, making positive life choices, and building hopeful, purpose-filled futures.
Together, the ROCK and Discover You™ work to foster hope, resilience, and strong connections in young people's lives. To learn more about The ROCK Center for Youth Development, its mission, and its full range of programs, visit www.therockc4yd.org.
Meet the Discover You™ Team
Tara Welch
Discover You™ and The ROCK Center for Youth Development President and CEO
Tara is the Chief Operating Officer of The ROCK Center for Youth Development and Discover You™. Discover You™ is a unique personal growth and development and applied positive psychology solution providing programs to over 25,000 middle and high school students and Designing Tomorrow, a post-secondary attainment program. Tara helps incorporates program planning to bring the best possible experience and plan for others to help themselves, their employees, students, and the organization. She is a certified coach in our Discover You™ content.
Tara graduated from Saginaw Valley State University in 2014 with her Bachelor’s degree in Art and History and is involved in numerous committees and boards in the Great Lakes Bay Region. She serves on the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Board and is vice-chair of the Bay County Growth Alliance board.
Sarah Weisbarth
Discover You™ Director
Sarah is a professional facilitator, trainer, and coach. Sarah serves in education with The ROCK Center for Youth Development as the Discover You Director.
With a certificate in coaching from the Co-Active Training Institute, Sarah uses her education in Health and Fitness and Certificate in Creating Wellbeing and Applied Positive Psychology to support adults and youth. Sarah incorporates our programs and planning to bring the best possible experience and plan for others to help themselves, their employees, students, and organization.
Her hope that individuals understand themselves and others to be effective personally and professionally is reflected in her extensive volunteer work. She self describes as a messy, introspective, hopeful, simplistic, lover of life.
Holly Ross
Discover You™ Project Manager
With a diverse background in art, education, administration, and childcare, Holly utilizes her experiences as the Discover You™ Project Manager. Holly holds a Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics from Tulane University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics with a minor in Psychology from Alma College. In addition to her creative endeavors, Holly has held teaching and assistantship positions at several colleges, worked as an administrator for a small business, and served as an Early Childcare Education Assistant and Lead Teacher for the Before and After School Program with YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids.
Holly currently serves her community on the Events Subcommittee for the Saginaw Young Professionals Network. She is a member of the leadership fraternity Alpha Phi Omega and the women’s fraternity Alpha Gamma Delta where she served as the Alumni Coordinator. Participating in various leadership programs since a young age, Holly embraces the mission and vision of Discover You™ to impact youth with the 21st-century skills that help students successfully forge their futures.
Bryce Smedley
Strategic Impact and Outreach Specialist
Bryce Smedley spent his career working in international sectors of education, environment, and business. Whether working with smallholder farmers on climate resilience, securing funding for youth development projects, or helping Korean students with conversational English, he thrives in environments where problem-solving meets real-world impact. Bryce started in education teaching in South Korea through the TaLK and EPiK programs where he designed creative learning spaces for students. His passion for grassroots-level impact then led him to the Peace Corps, where he focused on income generation, private sector development, and environmental sustainability. As the Strategic Impact and Outreach Specialist for Discover You™, Bryce collaborates with the team in progressing the mission to equip youth with the career and life skills needed for success as they enter adulthood.
Emma VanDongen
Digital Content Administrator
Emma VanDongen is the Digital Content Administrator at Discover You™. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Television and Digital Media Production from Ferris State University and brings a strong background in storytelling, video production, and digital communications. Emma has contributed her skills across a variety of community-focused and professional settings, including volunteering with Midland Community Television, working on video production crews for the Great Lakes Loons and Saginaw Spirit, and supporting marketing and communications efforts at Michigan Works! West Central. In these roles, she focused on capturing and sharing meaningful stories that highlight impact, growth, and opportunity.
Emma takes pride in utilizing all aspects of her educational background and is especially passionate about telling other people’s stories in ways that are engaging and accessible. She strongly believes in the mission of Discover You™ and is motivated by the organization’s commitment to empowering youth with skills for their future. Outside of work, Emma is a member of MYPros in Midland and coaches high school bowling. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, going to the movies, attending live shows and community events, drinking coffee, and unsurprisingly bowling.
Remi Grey
PeerLIFT Program Administrator
Remi Grey is a dedicated and compassionate youth development professional with over four years of experience at The ROCK Center for Youth Development, where they have played a pivotal role in both out-of-school time programming and in-classroom initiatives with Discover You™.
Certified in safeTALK, ASIST (applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training), and Youth Mental Health First Aid, Remi is equipped with the tools to support youth through mental health challenges and crisis intervention
With Discover You™, Remi leads the PeerLIFT program, a student-led mental health and suicide awareness initiative in every middle and high school across Midland County. PeerLIFT empowers students to foster open conversations, reduce stigma, and build peer-to-peer support networks that promote resilience and emotional wellbeing.
Ali Smith
PASS Program Administrator
Ali Smith is the Program Administrator for the Positive Alternative to School Suspension (PASS) program. Ali is a lifelong Bay City resident as well as a dedicated community leader, a proud father of five children, (three girls and two boys), and a loving grandfather to his grandson. With a passion for giving back and a commitment to empowering youth, Ali has made a significant impact in his community through his leadership, mentoring, and volunteerism. He is deeply invested in his children's growth and development, prioritizing quality time spent together and instilling values of kindness, resilience, and compassion. Ali takes great pride in watching his children grow into compassionate, responsible individuals who contribute positively to their communities.
Ali’s dedication to youth empowerment stems from his own experiences and challenges growing up. Recognizing the importance of mentorship and guidance during the formative years, he is passionate about providing support and opportunities for young people to thrive. As a community leader, Ali has served in various roles, including chairman, and as a board member for local non-profit organizations. His leadership style is characterized by empathy, integrity, and a genuine desire to make a positive difference in the lives of others. In his free time, Ali enjoys spending time with his family, attending car shows, golfing with friends, and giving back to his community in meaningful ways.
Gina Xu Anayana
Discover You™ Certified Coach
Gina Anayana is a youth coach, educator, and community leader passionate about helping young people build confidence, strengthen their voices, and discover their potential. Through her work with Discover You™, she facilitates experiences that support self-awareness, communication, emotional growth, and leadership development.
With a background in storytelling, creative expression, and youth empowerment, Gina brings a relational and engaging approach to coaching. She is also the Founder and President of United We Go, where she leads programs such as the Voice of Youth Podcast Program and the I AM Youth Fashion Show, creating spaces for young people to develop confidence and self-expression.
As a coach, Gina believes every young person carries gifts waiting to be recognized, and that when youth are given encouragement, tools, and a safe space to grow, they begin to see new possibilities for themselves and their future.