Going for the Gold
Pat McCormick was a four-time gold medallist in diving. In 1984, Peter Ubberoff began sending his Olympic organizing committee members, which Pat was a part of, to local schools and corporations to speak. Pat’s first speech was at Windling Elementary in El Puente, CA. Afterwards, one of the teachers came to her and asked if she could help out any of the children in the school. Pat began volunteering two mornings per week at the elementary school and began refining her process. Pat focuses on 3 key attributes in the students: You have to Work, You have to Learn and You have to Surround Yourself with Winners. Soon after Pat began volunteering there was a dramatic increase in better grades and kids staying in school.
Today, Pat volunteers at the Workman High School in East LA. These students are “at-risk” students who are struggling to graduate from high school. Pat has been able to encourage them to stop joining gangs and stop using drugs. Pat says that her passion of excellence comes from hardships of her own. “My father died on skid row, and that’s the motivation I have. I want to let everyone know if you have a dream and you believe it, you will find a way. You have to surround yourself with winners, you have to work,” says Pat. Today, several students have followed Pat’s guidance and have gone for the gold of high school graduation.