Chris Waddell

Thirteen-time Paralympic medalist and monoskiing world champion Chris Waddell asked Upper and Middle School students to shift their perspectives of people with disabilities and to push beyond the limits of the labels placed on them. Mr. Waddell became the first paraplegic person to summit Mount Kilimanjaro. He wants his climb, along with his One Revolution Foundation, to improve visibility and opportunities for people with disabilities. Mr. Waddell was inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and the Paralympics Hall of Fame. The Dalai Lama honored him as an “Unsung Hero of Compassion.” People Magazine named him one of the “Fifty Most Beautiful People in the World.” Skiing Magazine placed him among the “25 Greatest Skiers in North America.” Middlebury College presented him with a Doctorate in Humane Letters. National Public Radio (NPR) named his 2011 commencement address to Middlebury as one of “The Best Commencement Speeches, Ever.”

“Not being able to walk was the worst thing that I could imagine happening, but it was also the most powerful thing that ever happened to me, because I had to get better. I always had to find some sort of solution to every problem.”