STUDENT ATHLETE OF THE WEEK🚨
This week, our friends at Global Financial Partners recognize Christian Rohlack of the Bearkat Men's Cross Country Team as the Student Athlete of the Week. Congrats, Christian!
#EatEmUpKats
STUDENT ATHLETE OF THE WEEK🚨
This week, our friends at Global Financial Partners recognize Nora Ryan of the Bearkat Women's Track and Field Team as the Student Athlete of the Week. Congrats, Nora!
#EatEmUpKats
While we celebrate women's achievements & massive contributions to global society year-round, March is officially Women's History Month. And this year's theme is: “Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future”.
Today, March 3rd, is the birthday of one of my favorite all-time Olympians: Jackie Joyner-Kersee. She and Carl Lewis were a couple of my heroes in the 1980s and 1990s. And you know I love to look at leadership lessons learned from outside of the business arena. Consider this:
As a child in East St. Louis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee battled severe asthma, which wasn't diagnosed until she was in college. Doctors warned that big time athletics might be out of reach. Jackie defied that prognosis and became one of the greatest athletes in history, winning six Olympic medals.
Lesson: Your cannot allow anyone to define your ceiling.
At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, she won silver in the heptathlon. Many athletes would have been satisfied & moved on. Not Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Instead of celebrating silver as the pinnacle, she treated it as unfinished business. Four years later, she came back even stronger and won gold in both the heptathlon and the long jump. And then four years later, at Barcelona, Jackie would win gold again in the heptathlon.
Lesson: Sometimes silver is just a setup for gold. And there are few things as powerful as indomitable perseverance.
After global athletic success, she didn’t leave her roots behind. She founded the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation to provide youth programs, education, and athletic opportunities in her hometown of East St. Louis. She once said, “It’s not about the medals. It’s about making a difference.”
Lesson: Legacy is built on impact, not accolades.
What an outstanding example, on a variety of levels, for all of us today. And Jackie Joyner-Kersee's grit & dogged determination remind me of a great Maya Angelou quote:
“Nothing will work unless you do.”
STUDENT ATHLETE OF THE WEEK🚨
This week, our friends at Global Financial Partners recognize Caleb Anthony of the Bearkat Men's Track & Field Team as the Student Athlete of the Week. Congrats, Caleb!
#EatEmUpKats