This past Monday, Sept., 16, Manual hosted a celebration for Olympian and former student Yared Nuguse, where he spoke on self-confidence and his accomplishments.
The celebration began with an introduction from Principal Dr. Michael Newman, followed by addresses from Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, United States Representative Morgan McGarvey and JCPS Athletic Director Dr. April Brooks.
“I think it’s great. I think it’s an inspiration. It’s an inspiration for all of you that are going to Manual. It’s an inspiration for young people in Louisville to see that if you work hard, if you follow a passion of yours, you can truly achieve greatness at the highest level,” Greenberg said when asked about Yared’s success.
“I think it is another touchstone of what an amazing and special place Manual is, that we don’t just do math and science, and we don’t just do academics, and we don’t just do the arts, music, drawing, that people can excel at anything that they put their mind to here,” McGarvey said, agreeing to the sentiments expressed by Greenberg.
In fact, Nuguse holds many interests, many of which do not correlate to running. Originally, Nuguse pursued a high school career in bowling, but switched to track and field and cross country after Tim Holman (Social Studies), the head coach for cross country and one of the head coaches for track and field, convinced him to join the team. Nuguse also prepared to follow his dream of dentistry during high school, which is something that he still continues to reach towards.
“I was in bowling just cause I thought it would look on college apps, and then Holman–I ran miles and PE and then Holman kind of comes out to me after the coach tells him [about me]. And he was just like ‘Yo, you should really like, join the track team.’ and I was like, ‘Should I?’ And he was like, ‘No, yeah, yeah, you should,’” Nuguse said, regarding his decision.
Due to his fame, dozens of students, faculty and parents alike attended the event to get a glimpse of Nuguse, and he posed for photos and signed autographs for fans.In addition, the JCPS Cross Country Championships have been renamed the Yared Nuguse JCPS Cross Country Championships in honor of his accomplishments during the ceremony.
“Don’t set any limits on yourself. I think like especially the kids at Manual are capable of doing anything they set their minds to. And I feel like that kind of energy is what allowed me to achieve things that I didn’t even imagine achieving,” Nuguse said.
