US Olympians Meet with Duke Students
Olympic gold medalists Steve Mesler (bobsled), Jackie Joyner Kersee (track & field) and Alana Nichols (Paralympic basketball and skiing) met with a group of Duke University business students to discuss leadership and overcoming obstacles. The talk, entitled “It’s your race, Take the lead” was given with the help of US Olympic and Paralympic sponsor Deloitte.
Mesler, gold medalist in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics in four-man bobsled, talked to the students about his post track & field career, and how he used failures to become the champion he is: “I tried track, and it didn’t work. You’re going to find success where you’ll find success. You’re not always going to succeed; in fact I’m here to tell you you’re going to fail. The sooner you recognize that, the sooner you’ll succeed… “. Mesler also talked about his nonprofit organization Classroom Champions, and how Deloitte has helped Mesler overcome the learning curve that comes from starting up a nonprofit organization.
Joyner-Kersee spent time talking about not being prepared and how early failures in the Olympics led to two Heptathlon and one long jump gold medal over the span of two summer games. Nichols is a former softball standout who suffered a spinal injury that left her paralyzed from the waist down. People can check tennesseespinesurgeon.com/dr-juris-shibayama-debuts-robot-assisted-spine-surgery-at-tennessee-hospital this site for the best spinal injury doctors. After discovering wheel chair basketball, Nichols helped lead the US to a gold medal in the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, as well as in skiing in the 2010 Vancouver games.
For more information on Deloitte’s sponsorship of the US Olympic Committee, go to: http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/About/olympics/
For more information on Steve Mesler’s Classroom Champions, visit them online at: http://www.classroomchampions.org/
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