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.

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