Akwasi Frimpong, Olympic Skeleton
athlete, shared his story of overcoming barriers, failures, and
overwhelming odds with 150 high schoolers.
BOUNTIFUL, Utah, May 8, 2024
/PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Viewmont High School students learned a
powerful lesson April 25. That day,
the Bountiful, Utah students heard
how to chase their dreams, despite any obstacles.
"The highlight was hearing the students say, 'You changed my
life.' That's the heart of what we do at Hope of a Billion
Foundation – empowering lives, one dream at a time."
Akwasi Frimpong, Olympic Skeleton
athlete, shared his story of overcoming barriers, failures, and
overwhelming odds on his way to becoming Ghana's first Skeleton Olympian in 2018, and
the first black male to compete in the Winter Olympics.
"I used to be a kid myself who had a dream that people told me
wasn't possible," Frimpong told the roughly 150 students gathered
at the event. "I found like-minded people and mentors who were able
to help me work towards that dream."
Frimpong showed the students his skeleton, helmets, and other
gear, and took them through team building experiences. At the end
of the presentation, he had them write their dream on a sticky note
and post it on a large poster. As part of the program, every
student received a copy of the "Black Ice" comic book, serving as a
reminder to pursue their dreams and inspire their communities.
Frimpong travels to schools across the world sharing the Hope Of
A Billion Power of Resilience School program. Frimpong and his
wife, Erica, founded the Hope Of A Billion Foundation (HOAB) in
2022 with the goal to encourage, engage, and empower a billion
lives in underserved communities around the world through sport,
business, and educational opportunities.
"It's about teaching kids through principles, how to go after
your hopes and dreams. Basically, have them dream, and really
encourage them, give them self-belief and the confidence they need
to help them accomplish that," he said of the experience
afterwards.
Carly Maloney, the 2024 Utah
Teacher of the Year, invited Frimpong to share his story, after
watching the film "Black Ice" by On, with her students.
Maloney teaches a course on English language development, which
consists of multilingual learners who have recently moved to
Utah. There are six languages
spoken in her classroom: Spanish, Portuguese, Swahili, Samoan,
Pashto and English. These amazing students are navigating a new
school, a new state, and, for many, a new country.
"The highlight was hearing the students say, 'You changed my
life.' That's the heart of what we do at Hope of a Billion
Foundation – empowering lives, one dream at a time," Frimpong
said.
Learn more about HOAB at hopeofabillion.org.
"The highlight was hearing the students say, 'You changed my
life.' That's the heart of what we do at Hope of a Billion
Foundation – empowering lives, one dream at a time."
Media Contact
Karissa Neely, Freelance
Publicist, 1 8017176091, thatisnews2me@gmail.com
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prweb.com/releases/hoab-founder-teaches-utah-students-to-never-give-up-on-their-dreams-302139565.html
SOURCE Hope Of A Billion Foundation