Olympian Nick Baumgartner inspires students at Bothwell

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - Tuesday morning, Olympian Nick Baumgartner was at Bothwell Middle School in Marquette to inspire younger Yoopers.

Nick Baumgartner says he finds joy in inspiring others.

“These small-town kids sometimes get the feeling that they are from somewhere, so they think they can’t do big things, and I’m here to show them: don’t let where you came from hinder where you’re going,” Baumgartner said.

That was his message for students at Bothwell Middle School. Bothwell is just one of the multiple schools he visited. The Iron River native and 2022 Olympic gold medalist recently competed in his fifth Winter Olympics at age 44.

His experience has already inspired some 8th graders.

“You don’t really see that coming from such a small place,” said Bothwell 8th Grader Seda Hrodey. “You kind of tend to dream very small because you don’t think you have that much, but just seeing that is really inspirational.”

Nick also says that while accomplishing any goal, at some point, you’re going to run into doubters. He says that just means your dream is super big, but you can’t let those doubters stop you.

“The one thing that used to drive me nuts the most was when we would talk about sports with people, and they would go: Hey, you know what, you’re pretty good, snowboarder for someone from the U.P.,” Baumgartner said. “It pushed me to want to beat every person who wasn’t from the U.P. ”

Principal Bobby Reichel says Nick’s story reminds him of his own story.

He says, similar to Nick, he had his own set of doubters.

“I have hearing aids, and that has been a challenge throughout my entire life. ”Reichel said. “Thinking about the things Nick has said and what’s allowed me to overcome that are surrounding myself with the right people and good people, and for that, I’m so thankful.”

Nick is also presenting for the community at the Kaufman Auditorium on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

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