Here are some excerpts from the transcript of today's meeting with Nancy Pelosi:
www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pelosi-remarks-at-press-availability-with-us-olympic-and-paralympic-athletes-91750819.htmlPelosi Remarks at Press Availability With U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Athletes WASHINGTON, April 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Bart Stupak held a press availability this morning with medal-winning U.S. Olympic athletes Apolo Anton Ohno, Shani Davis, and Allison Baver and Paralympic athlete Allison Jones to discuss the B.J. Stupak Scholarship, a federally-funded scholarship program designed to provide financial assistance to Olympic athletes. Below is a transcript of the press availability: ...
Apolo Ohno needs no introduction to the world.
Shani Davis, we are so proud of him as well.
Allison Baver, thank you for joining us. That's gold, silver and bronze and more. And actually and more. This gold and silver belong to Shani. Allison Jones, thank you so much for being with us, Paralympics Athlete, alpine skier. Imagine that...
Speaker Pelosi: I reiterate that the scholarship is named for B.J. Stupak, and that is a source of special pride to us in the Congress. Somehow or other, I am certain we will be able to fund the scholarship. And with that, I am pleased to recognize someone who needs no introduction whatsoever to the American people but we are honored to have him here -- Apolo Ohno.
Apolo Ohno: Well, as you were talking about before, the scholarship program and the opportunities there in front of the Olympic athletes are sometimes rare. Everyone sees the Winter Games and the Summer Games every four years. But the athletes are obviously working every single day, and it takes a great deal of dedication, time, and effort behind the curtain that a lot of the public never gets to see. On top of that, Olympic athletes, traditionally they do not get paid even a fraction of what professional athletes get paid. So a lot of that sacrifice and dedication is because of the love of the sport, because they want to be Olympians, they want to go and represent the United States the best that they can.
On the other side, we want to be able to pursue our careers outside of the sport as well. For some athletes, 10 years in a sport means 10 years away from school. And unfortunately, when the games are over, the real life transition has to start. And if a lot of athletes have never actually decided to go to school because they had too much time involved with the sport, or they thought that they didn't have enough money so they had to put in, for their own sport they don't have that money set aside for school.
And I know a lot of the athletes had taken advantage of being able to go to school while training at the same time. So not only are we trying to be Olympians on the field we play, we are also trying to be Olympians in the real world, outside of our sports. And transitioning and using those skills that we have as Olympic athletes into the real world is something that is very, very important. And you hear of certain budget cuts and increases. But you know for us, we feel like we are America's best as Olympians, and we deserve a right to be able to have all opportunities set forth in front of us.
I think everyone here all agrees that the scholarship is something that has been fantastic. And I think it can actually help reach a lot of other athlete's lives. So we are definitely in big support.
Speaker Pelosi: Thank you very much, Apolo Ohno. And now another athlete, Olympian, who has made us very proud, gold and silver, Shani Davis welcome to the Capitol.
Shani Davis: Thank you for having me. I am just honored and thrilled to be able to talk on behalf of the Stupak Scholarship Program. I actually had a full rights of usage to the program because I actually lived in Marquette, Michigan. I graduated high school there. And one of the things that was one of the top priorities for myself was training to be an Olympian and hopefully become an Olympic medalist someday was my education. And I was able to have a hands-on experience of receiving a scholarship program, Olympic Scholarship Program award, and I used it to not only develop my education, but it was built around my busy athletic schedule. I was always traveling around the world, but they found, they just kind of pushed me. They wanted me to pursue my education, and I don't think that I would have been able to do that if I hadn't had the right people in my corner that were passionate for me to learn, as well as to pursue my desires and dreams as a speed skater. I am just happy that I am able to be here and speak so highly on behalf of it, and I hope that it continues to exist because right now I am extremely busy with trying to pursue another four years in my skating book.
Throughout those four years, I think it is very important for me to continue my education and I hope that the program exists and it grows in strength so that when the time is there for me — not only for me but for all the other athletes that are inspired to want to pursue their Olympic dreams or just be an athlete and a student as well. I hope it's there for them in the long run as well. I hope it lasts forever.
Speaker Pelosi: Thank you, Shani. You are a great testament to the success and the necessity of B.J. Stupak's scholarship program. Thank you for your generosity of your remarks, and of course, for making us all so proud. I want to hear from our women -- our two athletes. Allison Baver? We're so proud of you.
Allison Baver: Hi, I am Allison Baver. I skate short track and the scholarship has helped me personally tremendously. When I started skating in 2002, the scholarship was just starting. I was a junior at Penn State. Since then, I ended up winning a bronze medal, but also was able to pursue my Masters degree. I got my MBA, specializing in marketing at the New York Institute of Technology.
And sport is so powerful, and I am launching a foundation off the ice. And that is my way of using what this educational scholarship has done for me. But to show how sport and the Olympics both win, and this scholarship can benefit our country is another thing. Crime, obesity, drugs: sport has such an influence on our children. And us being role models, which we are in this position as an Olympic athlete, we are very proud. I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to earn the scholarship. And hopefully, that will continue for years to come. And this can be the standard. And we can keep building on that, offering kids an opportunity to be successful in life and sport.
Speaker Pelosi: Thank you, Allison, and congratulations.
Allison Baver: Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Speaker Pelosi: ...that these athletes, who are obviously very young but they have been so successful already, would use their celebrity to help other athletes, to share their personal stories of how they benefited from the B.J. Stupak Scholarship. But for some, it is about what it would mean for other athletes as well. It is, shall we say, very persuasive, and these voices have been very well heard on Capitol Hill. Again, your excellence, your discipline, your being the best, makes you eloquent spokespersons for this need to invest in education for all athletes. We are thrilled and delighted you are here. We are honored to be with you...
Tags: Apolo Anton Ohno / Allison Baver / Shani Davis / Short Track Speedskating
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