It isn’t everyday that you get to share the halls of your high school with an Olympic bronze medallist, but on Tuesday students at Lethbridge Collegiate Institute did just that.
LCI alumni Ashley Steacy, back from an amazing summer games in Rio where the Canadian women’s rugby sevens team took home bronze, gave a speech to the students on their first day back to school.
WATCH: Bronze medallist Ashley Steacy shares her Olympic experience
“It was cool seeing some of the differences and the similarities at LCI,” Steacy said. “Like I said in my speech, it was so cool being here. LCI has so many rich traditions and hopefully this new generation can carry those on.”
READ MORE: Canada captures bronze medal after dumping Great Britain in women’s rugby
Steacy spoke to the gymnasium packed of eager students about finding their passion like she did in sport. She said a big conversation the Canadian Olympic team had as they went into Rio was inspiring young athletes to follow their dreams.
“From everything I’ve heard after we’ve gotten back from Rio, rugby sevens has really sparked the interest of the nation,” Steacy said. “A lot of parents told us that their young girls and their young boys were so excited to see the rugby sevens and that they wanted to get active, and they wanted to play sports.”
“That falls really close to my heart because that’s really what we wanted to do.”
READ MORE: Olympic medallist Jen Kish talks Rio, her dad’s support and rugby’s future
Vice principal Chris Harris got to check out the hardware and said Steacy is not only an amazing alumni to come out of LCI, but a role model for the future generation.
“It’s a really good message to the students that while it may seem like high school is going to take a long time, it’s actually only four short years, and before you know it, it’s actually over,” Harris said. “Setting goals for when you start in high school is very important for where you want to end up after high school.”
READ MORE: Raising an Olympian: How a single dad helped daughter Jen Kish reach the podium
Steacy hopes with early goals set, other LCI students can achieve greatness.
“Whatever sport it is, whatever they’re passionate about, we just want them to get out and get active.”
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