Troy Evans

From Desperation to Dedication

On November 12, 1992, Troy Evans was sentenced to 13 years in Federal Prison. He was convicted of five armed bank robberies, in three states, over a six-month crime spree, and was sent to the Federal Correctional Complex in Florence, Colorado. His neighbors included such notorious criminals as Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. Troy was released on December 13, 1999, over seven and one-half years later.

Despite the obstacles that only prison can produce, Troy was determined that his time behind bars would not be wasted time. Education would be his saving grace. After six months of filling out applications, writing essays, begging, pleading and selling, Troy landed his first scholarship for one class. That was a beginning, and when Troy walked out the doors of prison he carried with him two degrees, both obtained with a 4.0 GPA and designation on the Dean’s and President’s list.

Troy is now a motivational speaker who has been featured on Good Morning America, CNN, FOX and in The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Newsday, The New Yorker and more. He shares his story and lessons learned with audiences of all ages. Since his release, Evans has taken the Corporate, Association and Education platforms by storm with his motivational keynote speeches. Audiences are stunned by his endurance, accomplishments and remarkable personal transformation.

With straightforward, real life examples, Evans shows how the keys to his success in prison are the keys to his success today, and how these lessons can be applied to escaping the “prisons within ourselves.” He renews an appreciation for what is really important in all of our lives and motivates each and every person to overcome adversity, adapt to change and to realize his or her full potential.

Topics

“From Desperation to Dedication: The Strength to Believe”
This program rejuvenates audience members and revives their vision and purpose. Troy shares his stories of failure and success to demonstrate the power that we all have within when we have the strength to believe and the vision to see the potential in ourselves and our personal and professional relationships. In today’s ever-changing world, the emotional drain can be intense and disillusionment can lurk around every corner. Troy Evans’ story serves as an example of what happens when your professionals have the strength to believe. Audience members will walk away with real insight into overcoming adversity, adapting to change and pushing themselves to realize their full potential.

“Internal Prisons: The Thief of Productivity and Quality in our Workforce”
It is Troy’s belief that prison does not necessarily mean steel bars and razor wire. That we all have “prisons within ourselves,” prisons that are just as confining as the one that held him for 7.5 years. Prisoners to fears, addictions, depression, overeating, overworking, bad relationships-the list could go on and on. What does this have to do with management? Only when we ourselves, as well as those we bring into our companies, are “whole” personally can we all become better professionally. His program encourages managers and employees to be proactive in their work, not reactive. Reactive people let the environment dictate what they do and in a sense protect them. He shows business professionals how they can become better people, and what is truly important in their lives. Only then can they become the most they can be on the job. He also touches on diversity in the workforce-relating the importance of employing ex-convicts.

“From Desperation to Dedication: Lessons You Can Bank On”
Troy Evans didn’t go to bank robbing school. He didn’t read a manual or serve an apprenticeship. Like many of his peers, he was simply a natural at finding the path of least resistance. Troy takes us beyond the profile reports of the common criminal and offers first-hand accounts so tangible that his audiences will be talking about his stories for years. He answers question such as: What goes through the mind of an armed drug addict as he cases a bank branch? How does desperation spark inventive solutions? And, what can banks do to deter a desperate criminal? Weaving the similarities between his motives for choosing a bank, the mistakes he made in his young life, and the tendency of human nature to choose the easy path, Troy’s parable-like delivery provides a real look at how we can secure our banks as we would our own lives.

“From Desperation to Dedication: The Success of an Educated Ex-Con”
Every day, teachers and school administrators hold our children’s futures in their hands as educators, surrogate parents, wardens and counselors. The emotional drain can be intense and disillusionment can lurk around every corner. Troy’s story serves as an example of what happens when your educators have the strength to believe. Faced with the ever-increasing role of educators and the fear and discouragement of recent headlines, this program rejuvenates teachers and administrators and revives their vision and purpose. Troy Evans shares his stories of failure and success with members of these noble professions to demonstrate the power they wield when they have the strength to believe and the vision to see potential and value in every student

“Choice, Challenge and Consequence: The Teenage Years”
With young people, Troy speaks openly on the dangers of drug use, peer pressure and the power of responsible decision-making. He grabs the attention of today’s youth by sharing what he witnessed within the harsh environment of a Federal Prison and illustrates how his years of incarceration can be linked to the decisions he made as a teenager. Teen audiences are left with a wide-eyed understanding of “consequence” and a realization that the decisions they make today have the potential to alter their entire life.