Extraordinary Grad to Speak to Students in Triumphant Return
Internationally acclaimed athlete and motivational speaker Sarah Reinertsen is returning to her hometown next month. The 1993 Huntington High School graduate will carry a message of hope during two days of presentations to Huntington students and teachers.
“Sarah's message is a powerful one for all children,” said Joan R. Fretz, district director of fine arts. “It is a source of inspiration and hope especially for our special needs children as well as those that struggle to succeed academically and socially.” The visit is sponsored by the district, the PTA arts-in-education program and the Special Education PTA.
The Huntington alum will be visiting Huntington on Feb. 4-5 and speaking to sixth graders from Woodhull and Jack Abrams intermediate schools and students from J. Taylor Finley Middle School and Huntington High School. The presentations, which will last up to one hour in length, will include a portion devoted to questions and answers.
Ms. Reinertsen was born with proximal femoral focal deficiency, a bone growth disorder that ultimately required the amputation of her leg above the knee when she was just seven years old. But, that hasn’t held her back one bit. As a Huntington student she participated in a full range of sports and clubs, earned top grades and set her goals high – very high. She broke her first world record as a 13-year old.
Ms. Reinertsen earned an undergraduate degree at George Washington University in 1997 in communications with a minor in international affairs and then obtained a Master’s degree in broadcast journalism at the University of Southern California in 2000.
Today she resides in Mission Viejo, California and has starred in print and television ads for Lincoln, the luxury car maker. She finished seventh in 10th season of “The Amazing Race” and has appeared on several national TV programs, including ABC’s “Nightline.”
Ms. Reinertsen has been speaking to small and large groups of teachers and students since she was 14 years old. “We are introducing research in growth and fixed mindsets to some of our faculties this year,” Ms. Fretz said. “Dr. Carol Dweck's work in this area explains that students with a growth mindset thrive on challenge and are not defined by failure. They see failure simply as an indication that they need to try again, with another strategy. However, people who have a fixed mindset believe that everyone has a limited amount of intelligence and talent. To them, if you have to work hard at something, it is a sign that you are NOT able. Our goal is to encourage students to try, to put in the effort and to believe that they can increase their skills in any area of interest.”
She is the first woman to ever race in the Ironman World Championship triathlon (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run) in Hawaii on a prosthetic leg. Her resume includes medals at the world championships, marathons in assorted cities across the globe and even a 2006 ESPY Award as the “Best Female Disabled Athlete of the Year.”
Inducted in the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame in 1991, Ms. Reinertsen is a sought after motivational speaker who carries a message of hope, courage and triumph to audiences everywhere, encouraging people of all ages to “live life without limitations.” For more information about the Huntington alum, visit her website at www.alwaystri.net.
Ms. Reinertsen’s Huntington presentation will carry a "Getting to Your Finish Line" theme. Each session will also include two short DVD's, a PowerPoint presentation and autograph cards. “It is the story of how Sarah failed at her first attempt at the Ironman, gave up, and then how she decided to fulfill her dream,” according to promotional material.
“Sarah talks about how it felt to grow up disabled, the limits some adults put on her, pride in winning a hopping contest in elementary school and how she came to have this dream of challenging herself,” according to promotional material. “She focuses on goal setting, the importance of effort and how to be better at achieving your goals and creating success. She explains how much effort and sacrifice it took to reach her goal, encouraging your students to set their own goals and put forth the necessary effort to achieve them.”
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