Ball State University students face obstacles every day - from getting out of bed and making it to class on time to passing exams - but trying to earn an Olympic gold medal presents a whole other list of obstacles.
Olympic gold medalist Kerri Strug will be at Ball State tonight to present a program called "Olympic Gold Leadership" at the L.A. Pittenger Student Center. Student Life and Excellence in Leadership are co-sponsoring the event. She will speak about obstacles she had to overcome to win a gold medal in gymnastics, Aimee Ash, associate director of Student Life, said.
In 1996, Strug helped the U.S. Women's Gymnastics team capture a team gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics. Despite injuries, she made a one-foot landing and secured the win.
Strug enjoys speaking with college students because she thinks talking about what she has overcome helps the students, Ash said.
Ash said when trying to decide who to bring to campus to speak, she likes to bring people with different backgrounds, and Strug's name stood out from all the other people considered.
"Strug served as a role model for some of today's college students, so this is a unique opportunity for some students to see their role model in person," Ash said.
After the Olympics, Strug earned a bachelor's degree in communications and a master's degree in sociology from Stanford University, according to her USA-Gymnastics official biography. She was an elementary school teacher in California before she moved to Washington, D.C. and started working with the government in 2003.
Graduate student John Huber said people should come out to hear Strug speak because it's a good opportunity to hear someone who is nationally known speak on campus.
"Olympic Gold Leadership" is free and open to the public and will begin at 7 p.m. at the Student Center in Cardinal Hall.
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