Despite school being canceled for the rest of this academic year, a Buffalo author wants to make sure students still have their eyes on the prize.

Even though the coronavirus pandemic has forced students out of the classroom, their learning has not stopped.

Duncan Kirkwood hosted a virtual talk Tuesday night to inspire kids who may feel uneasy being out of school.

“Our young people need this,” Kirkwood said.

He urges students to use this quarantine time to better themselves, follow their passion, and make changes in their lives.

Not only did kids from Buffalo tune in, students from several other cities like Baltimore and Chicago joined in on the interactive talk. Kirkwood reminded them all to live their lives like a GPS.

“When there’s a detour you just continue and you re-route it, just changes the course but it’s still moving forward,” he said.

“He definitely does know how to put things into perspective," said Nate Wilson, a senior at Charter High School for Applied Technologies.

Wilson was one of the participants in Kirkwood’s session. The budding music artist has spent his days out of school completing classwork and working on his music. He understands now is the time to focus on his growth.

“The fact that we can’t go outside and live our life is just stressing to a lot of people, it was definitely stressing me out, I definitely learned how to get through it through that talk," Wilson said.

Kirkwood hopes his message is loud and clear that students should take the positives away from these negative circumstances.

“Know that in this moment you can build the foundation for your future," Kirkwood said.