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Inspirational

by Betsy Chapman

In this Issue: a recap of two-time gold medal winner Briana Scurry’s speech, panels of National AIDS Memorial Quilt on display

Briana Scurry’s speech

Yesterday was a big day with the arrival of two-time gold medal winner Briana Scurry coming to our campus. She was our MLK speaker in Wait Chapel and she gave a terrific address. Winston-Salem State University and Wake Forest University host their annual joint Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration, in Wait Chapel on the campus of Wake Forest University on Monday, January 16, 2023. Soccer player and two time Olympic gold medalist Briana Scurry gives the MLK Keynote Address.

I will admit that she hooked me early when she spoke of Jim Craig, the goalkeeper for the US Men’s hockey team at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics (“do you believe in miracles?!?!“) – and an early crush of mine 🙂 But the totality of her remarks were just amazing, and I hope your Deacs heard them. If not, you can watch the recording. It is well worth your time.

Briana Scurry was nothing short of inspirational. There were snippets of her remarks that stuck out to me – at once very simple, but also very profound. Here’s a few of the ones I noted:

  • She talked about the importance of her parents believing in her at a young age when she said she wanted to go to the Olympics. And she was quick to say that it didn’t have to be a parent that believed in you – it could be a coach, a tacher, etc.
  • She made a sign after the 1980 Miracle on Ice performance by the US hockey team that said “Olympics. 1996. I have a dream.” And she put it on her bedroom wall and saw it ever day, as a reminder, as motivation.
  • She talked about diamonds being made under pressure – and related it to our students, saying all the rigors that our students are going through now, they are all preparing you to go after your dream.
  • She talked about not being afraid to try something new, saying just because you haven’t done it before doesn’t mean you can’t crush it.
  • She shared some of the hardest parts of her life’s journey: the loss of her beloved father, a terrible concussion that led to lots of other issues, depression, and even suicidal ideation, financial woes.
  • And she also shared that it is OK to get help when you need it.

And – perhaps most astonishingly – she brought her two Olympic gold medals into the audience for people to touch, hold, wear, take pictures of.

Winston-Salem State University and Wake Forest University host their annual joint Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration, in Wait Chapel on the campus of Wake Forest University on Monday, January 16, 2023. Members of the audience pass Scurry’s gold medals to each other. Winston-Salem State University and Wake Forest University host their annual joint Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration, in Wait Chapel on the campus of Wake Forest University on Monday, January 16, 2023. Members of the audience pass Scurry’s gold medals to each other. Winston-Salem State University and Wake Forest University host their annual joint Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration, in Wait Chapel on the campus of Wake Forest University on Monday, January 16, 2023. Members of the audience pass Scurry’s gold medals to each other.

Can. You. Imagine?!?!?! Holding a gold medal (or two)?!?

She was an incredible speaker for our students, and not just because of all the remarkable sports achievements she’s had. She has a gift of being inspirational, of sharing her humanity – in all the tough moments as well as the glorious ones – and connecting with the audience.

My thanks to everyone on our campus and at Winston-Salem State for helping bring her to campus, and of course to Briana Scurry herself for sharing her story with us.

Also check out our WF Women’s Soccer Team Facebook for some bonus pictures of Briana with our student-athletes.

Panels of National AIDS Memorial Quilt on display

If you watched the livestream of Briana Scurry’s talk in Wait Chapel, you would have seen that part of the backdrop was five panels of the National AIDS Memorial Quilt.

The panels will be on display in the Benson Center Rotunda (3rd floor entryway) from Jan. 16-20.  

The Quilt’s history goes back to 1987 during the AIDS pandemic when it was first unveiled on the National Mall in Washington D.C. Today, it has more than 50,000 panels with more than 110,000 names stitched into its fabric. The tapestry weighs 54-tons and is considered the largest piece of community art in the world.

Fun fact for the 1992 alumni families: somewhere around finals our freshman year, in spring 1989(ish) if I recall correctly, Wake Forest hosted some of the AIDS quilt panels on campus. In my memory, it was maybe late April or early May 1989 – but if you were there and remember differently, you can hit ‘reply’ on your Daily Deac email (all replies come to my inbox) and share what you remember as to its visit.

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