Kirk C. Watkins, Jamestown. On December 11, 2019, Jamestown Elementary students and parents were fortunate to be given the opportunity to attend a presentation from Chris Waddell. Chris founded and was representing the One Revolution Nametags Educational Program, which uses the motto “It’s not what happens to you. It’s what you do with what happens to you,” to help students learn resilience. Their aim is to give the students tools to use in their own lives to handle difficult situations that life brings to them.

From his website, http://one-revolution.org/about/about-chris/, “Chris was a ski racer at Middlebury College where he fell in a ski accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Chris was back skiing within a year and went on to become one of the most decorated mono-skiers of all time. 

When Chris retired as a professional athlete, he summited Mt. Kilimanjaro on a handcycle to turn the perception of disability upside down. Chris’ journey lives on through the documentary 1Revolution and through the over 150 presentations Chris gives annually. Last year, Chris released his first book, Things I Want to Remember Not to Forget, a book based on the Middlebury College Commencement Speech that landed Chris on NPR’s list of The Best Graduation Speeches, Ever. Chris recently released his first of three children’s books that illustrate his motto “It’s not what happens to you. It’s what you do with what happens to you.” 

Chris had the students, parents, and staff of Jamestown enthralled as he told them his story and showed a slideshow which highlighted many of his adventures and accomplishments, post-paralysis. He also included many inspirational sayings and quotations from some of the most transcendent figures of sports, science and religion. Sayings such as “You miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take,” from hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, and Thomas Edison’s “I have not failed, I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work,”. He continued to impress upon the audience the concept that failure is not an end, it is simply a step in the direction towards success.

From his website, “our universal message encourages students to apply our tools in resilience to overcome obstacles in their own lives. Our approach to challenges determines our success - we all face challenges; it is how we choose to handle those challenges that determine success.” 

As he explained to the attendees, the story of his recovery from what many would consider a career ending injury, to scaling Mount Kilimanjaro, he talked about the difficulties he had to endure in order to complete his journey. He spoke of the specialized equipment that had to be designed and built in order for him to ascend the rough terrain, and how he had to dig deep inside for the courage to finish. As he recounted the trials that he encountered during his life, he was able to frame his journey in a way that was easily understood, and his inspirational message was one that is relevant to all in attendance.

His four-part strategy was summed up as follows: 

“The 4 S’s of Resilience.” 

Self: Am I a victim or a survivor? 

Situation: Is it overwhelming or a challenge? 

Support: Will I stand alone or build a team? 

Strategies: Will I develop one or many ways to overcome? 

Examine and Develop Self Awareness 

Students will be challenged to look at themselves and identify the genius that lies within them. 

Promote Acceptance, Inclusion, and Diversity 

Students are encouraged to see others for their unique genius 

Turn Perception of Disability Upside Down 

Presenters challenge traditionally held beliefs about what it means to be “disabled”. 

When asked about his impression of the program, Ben Perry, the father of a fourth grade student said, “It was very impressive. I had not heard of Chris before, but the way he was able to relate his program to elementary school students and make it something that was useful was very impressive.” 

Patrick Griffin, the teacher for the fourth, fifth, and sixth grade classroom class at Jamestown, described how he had heard about the program. “We received an email from the One Revolution organization, which is the organization that Chris is a part of,” he stated, “and they asked if we would be interested in having Chris come to our school to talk to the kids about perseverance and resilience, and I thought it was a wonderful opportunity for them.”

When asked what made him decide to bring this program to Jamestown he answered, “I think the story of him being a ski racer back when he was young would really resonate here.” He continued, saying, “the fact that he faced an extremely difficult challenge in losing the use of his legs, but then decided to continue doing his skiing, just what it takes to be able to do something like that and then continue with your dreams and your goals just seemed to be a message that the kids would really love.” He also talked about how the kids had researched Mr. Waddell and had been inspired by his story of picking up after tragedy and being successful. 

Chris revealed that he was happily surprised how excited kids were to learn from his presentation and mentioned that they would sometimes surprise him years after seeing him. “I’ve had kids track me down at the airport and chant our motto to me, and it was like wow…. I would ask them when I was at their school and they would say, like five years ago. And they still remember it, this is good. And I think we give a message with the story. Nobody likes to be told what to do, so if we can go on this journey together it’s kind of like, alright.”

The journey that the people, young and old, took that day seemed to leave an impression. The kids took photos with Chris, and he smiled as big as any of the kids that were there. He has been recognized as an example of resiliency and spirit by many worldwide, and on this day the children and adults at Jamestown Elementary were able to experience why.

(Originally published in the January 30, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)