Speaker Shares Message of Resilience and Acceptance

On Thursday, Sept. 25, students in all divisions at University School of Milwaukee were treated to a presentation from a special guest: Aaron Golub. He was the first legally blind NCAA Division 1 athlete to play in a game when he played football at Tulane University, where he was named team captain, and later became an NFL free agent.

Golub had a full day of presentations at USM, where he started off by speaking to parents, followed by assemblies with Preschool, Lower School, and Middle School students. His visit concluded with an assembly with Upper School students in the afternoon. Golub shared his message of resilience and persistence with the audiences, along with strategies to create true change and impactful insights to rethink past beliefs. As part of his visit, Golub led interactive activities involving students, including trying on goggles that simulated his vision and attempting to catch a ball, giving them a first-hand glimpse of his athletic experience.

His visit was initiated by the Upper School’s Student Diversity Leadership Committee (SDLC), whose goal is to invite a guest speaker to school annually who can inspire students to think about who they are as a community and how their different identities make them stronger. Golub was their first speaker. While here, Golub ate lunch with members of SDLC and also spoke to the Upper School Student Athletic Leadership Team (SALT).

Many thanks to Shanee McCoy, director of inclusion at USM, for organizing his visit.