April Holmes inspires minority leaders

April Holmes took off her leg like it was nothing. She handed it over to a student, who didn't know what to do with it.

"Don't worry,'' Holmes said, "it won't bite you.''

After gathering himself for a moment, the student grabbed the Paralympic gold medalist's prosthetic leg and passed it around to the rest of the students sitting in a meeting room at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Holmes, who won a gold medal in the 100-meter dash at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, was the featured motivational speaker last weekend at the U.S. Olympic Committee's (USOC) Finding Leaders Among Minorities Everywhere (F.L.A.M.E.) program.

The event brought together 30 minority student leaders from across the country to explore the Olympic ideals of persistence, commitment, vision, focus and determination.

During her presentation, Holmes emphasized several of the Olympic values --- displaying universal respect, pushing for peace, and creating a standard of friendship, solidarity and fair play.

Olympian Carissa Gump led a weightlifting demonstration, and the students participated in a wrestling demonstration. The weekend also included diversity presentations and bonding activities.

But the highlight was Holmes' speech.

A high school 400-meter champion, who later earned All-American honors as a sprinter at Norfolk State University, Holmes seemed to have everything going for her. But then she was involved in a train accident in 2001 that resulted in the loss of her left leg below the knee.

Rather than dwell on accident, she decided to look forward. When her doctor presented her with magazines about the Paralympic Games, her life changed forever.

All she had to do was believe in herself and embody the spirit of Olympism.

Holmes added about one of her competitors on the track in Beijing:

"If she does not believe in herself, who else is going to?"

Aseem Rastogi, a student at Old Dominion University, was taken aback by Holmes's presentation.

            "I thought it was the most inspiring thing I've ever seen," Rastogi said. "I was just saying, anytime I think I can't do something I'm going to think of her because I can't understand what it feels like to have your leg crushed under a train, and then 19 months later be on the track again. That is amazing."

Holmes stressed it's never too early to make a difference.

"Hopefully, you all get out into the community and become very, very good friends with someone out in the community," she said. "Hopefully, you reach outside of your community and find a very, very good mentor. And hopefully, hopefully, that town that you're originally from, you go back to that town and give something."

Holmes told everyone about how she almost ate marijuana brownies without knowing it back in college, but that she surrounds herself with good people - something every young athlete should be doing.

"It's about hanging around people that care about you enough to not see you spoil your dreams," Holmes told the students. "You need friends around you to say 'Stop, don't do that.' If you don't have those kinds of friends, you need to find at least a couple of them."

Throughout the program, the students were informed about networking and how important it is to establish relationships both on the field and in the workplace.

"The relationships that you have with people are so important because you will never know - never, ever, ever know - when you're going to need somebody that you crossed at some point in time in your life," Holmes said.

Pasadena City College student Solomon Abdella said the weekend provided him the opportunity to become a better leader in his community and taught him to be more open-minded.

Merilly Ruglas, a native of Honduras and a student at the University of New Orleans, used the weekend as a means to overcome her shyness. The marketing major was inspired by the Training Center facilities and learning about everything the Olympic and Paralympic movements have to offer.

"It's exciting,'' Ruglas said. "It's heart touching. I used to do gymnastics as a little girl, and then I saw it on TV. So being here, it's something big. I'm so happy about it."

Ruglas was told she can be a leader if she takes advantage of her networks.

"All things that come at you in life you're not always prepared for," Holmes said. "But the faster you can think on your feet and the faster you can call on those other people to help you, the better off you're going to be."

Holmes advised all of the students to always be on the tips of their toes if they want to lead successful lives according to the Olympic ideals.

"Sometimes in life, you think you're prepared for something, but instead something else comes your way," Holmes said. "If you don't learn how to improvise, guess what - you're going to lose."

Holmes found a way to win and hopes others will follow in her footsteps.

 

Tags: USOC