Next Dillon Lecture Series speaker is an Olympic gold medalist

By Brenna Eller
Opinion Page Editor

On Tuesday, Olympic gold medalist, Shawn Johnson East will be speaking on behalf of the Dillon Lecture Series at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

According to the Administrative Assistant to the President and Dillon Lecture Series Coordinator, Robin Woodworth, the lecture begins at 10:30 a.m. and the doors will open at 9:45. HutchCC students are admitted for free with a student I.D.

Shawn Johnson, 25, is a four-time Olympic medalist and was the “Dancing with the Stars” winner in 2009.

She has gone through many hurdles in her life and hasn’t always gotten what she wanted. In Beijing, she lost the dream she had worked for several years, finishing second place in the all-around Olympics. On the other hand, she did win the individual gold medal for the balance beam.

Later on, Shawn went through a painful knee injury due to a skiing accident and had to rethink her life and choices.

Keppler Speakers, a privately held speakers bureau, stated that she ended up retiring from gymnastics, and in 2012 published a book “Winning Balance”. In 2014, Shawn appeared on the hit show Celebrity Apprentice.

She is majorly involved in cancer and animal charities.

Keppler also said, “Celebrity speaker Shawn Johnson truly loves big and lives big.”

The lecture is expected to be mainly about faith and motivation, and Shawn Johnson has so many experiences to share.

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