Gold medalist Christian Taylor returned to where the spark for his track and field career first ignited to inspire students at Robert J. Burch Elementary to follow their dreams.
Although Taylor has not been a student at Burch since 2001, his memories of the school are very vivid and positive. He was a member of the school’s running club, and recalls getting to school early so he could do his laps.
“I couldn’t wait to get the marks on my hands for laps that I ran. The running club is where my dream started,” he told the students during an assembly in his honor.
His message was clear and simple: dream big, follow your dreams, and always do your personal best. He reminded students that he was once just like them, and that any dream is possible if they set their minds to it.
“I walked the same halls of this school as you, I ate lunch in the same cafeteria as you, I was just like you. I am here to tell you that you can do anything you want to do. Just dream, and then work hard to make that dream come true,” he said to his fellow Burch Bears.
Current fourth grade student, Christian Taylor, introduced the Olympian at the assembly, saying that not only do they share the same first and last name, but that they also share the same school and are both Burch Bears.
Taylor referenced his former elementary school during one of his media interviews after earning the gold medal in the triple jump at the Rio Summer Olympic Games, saying he would “always be a Burch Bear.” The school had lanyards made with that statement on them to reward students for positive behavior. Taylor was the first person to receive the lanyard. He returned to the school a few days later to have lunch with Natalia Nizker’s fourth grade class, the classroom that won a school-based competition for best cafeteria manners, and to hand out the first student lanyards to the winners.
The Burch Bear Ambassadors were in the lobby to greet Taylor when he arrived at the school, and each got to touch his medal and ask questions about his life and Olympic experiences. Following the assembly, every student in the school had an opportunity to touch the gold medal around his neck.
Taylor also visited his former high school, Sandy Creek, while he was in town.
