Urges Students to Focus on Their Abilities, Rather Than Their Disabilities

Hartford, Conn. – U.S. Paralympic curling athlete Augusto “Goose” Perez addressed fifty 8th and 9th grade students at Hartford’s Steppingstone Academy on Wednesday afternoon with a message of perseverance in the face of life’s greatest odds.

The youngsters gathered in the Life Sciences Building on the Trinity campus, and listened intently as Perez described his life’s experiences, from being on top of the world, to battling cancer three times.

Augusto "Goose" Perez

First diagnosed at 27 with a rare soft tissue sarcoma in his left leg, Perez quickly saw his lifelong love for playing soccer disappear. The sport had been part of his life for many years and even garnered him a college scholarship.

In 2003 Perez lost his left leg as a result of the cancer, but rather than stop enjoying life, he saw a new opportunity to pursue athletics and have fulfilling, positive experiences. However, he stressed that having his education to fall back on was paramount to him leading a productive life.

“You can lose your legs, you can lose your medals, but no one can take away your education,” he said.

Perez’s chronicle of his battle with cancer and rise to elite athlete status—a path he dubbed his personal Green Mile—to the Steppingstone Academy students was filled with positive remarks and humor. But he was careful to underscore that everything he did involved hard work.

“Hard work does not guarantee success, but no work guarantees failure,” declared Perez. He added that it’s more important to focus on one’s abilities, rather than one’s disabilities.

In 2005 Perez was introduced to curling, which he mastered in seven weeks before competing in the 2006 Paralympic games in Torino, Italy. Currently he is training for the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada.

A resident of East Syracuse, N.Y., Perez was named the U.S. Curling Male Athlete of the Year in 2008. Off the ice, the Madrid native is a Spanish tutor for middle and high school students. Perez received his B.A. from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y.

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., the founding sponsor of the U.S. Paralympics, arranged for Perez to speak to the scholars. The Steppingstone Academy is run by the Hartford Youth Scholars Foundation (HYSF), a nonprofit organization that helps city students attend college by providing academic preparation and placing students in elite independent schools throughout Connecticut.

A supporter of the HYSF, The Hartford contributed $25,000 to the organization last year and is providing in-kind services this year. Trinity College is also a supporter of the HYSF and the school’s president, James F. Jones, Jr., is a board member.

The U.S. Paralympics is a division of the U.S. Olympic Committee. Its mission is to recruit and train elite athletes with physical disabilities.

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