Olympic Gold Medalist Gives Pep Talk at Garfield High
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More than 250 student athletes filled the bleachers at the Garfield High School gym in East Los Angeles on Thursday to hear Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee discuss how she overcame a major hurdle afflicting thousands of inner-city children.
Joyner-Kersee spoke candidly to the attentive group about growing up in a low-income area in East St. Louis, Ill. She learned she had asthma in 1981 while at a student at UCLA.
“Asthma didn’t stop me from believing in myself,” Joyner-Kersee said. “Education played a vital role in my life. I had to educate myself and not let it prevent me from making my dreams a reality.”
The students asked the three-time Olympic gold medalist questions, presented her with T-shirts and gifts representing school sports teams, then surrounded her for autographs.
“She was pretty cool,” said admirer Maria Vera, 15, a member of the school’s cross country team. “She didn’t let anything get in the way of her goals.”
The 30-minute event followed a ceremony during which Joyner-Kersee, world-record holder in the heptathlon, presented medals to six staff members who serve asthmatic children through a unique clinic on wheels.
The Breathmobile, a recreational vehicle fully equipped and staffed like a clinic, has treated about 700 asthmatic children at 18 schools on the Eastside and in South-Central Los Angeles this year. A doctor and two nurses treat afflicted children with free examinations, medication and other therapies.
“The vehicle was developed to help low-income children who are not accessible to more costly medical treatment,” said honoree Dr. Jean Hanley-Lopez. “These services can easily cost them more than $200.”
Because of its success, officials are adding two more mobile clinics next year to serve 36 more schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The Breathmobile is a $300,000 project funded by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. It is a collaborative effort of the foundation, L.A. County-USC Medical Center and the LAUSD.
