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| Olympian Julia Clukey (left) speaking to a group of freshmen at WHS. On stage with Clukey are WHS seniors Bryanna Welch and Sean Roche |
Story and photo by Reg Bennett
WELLS –
Flying down a winding, ice-coated track on a small sled at
speeds exceeding eighty miles an hour takes courage, practice and great
skill. But that is what Julia
Clukey does when in competition on the U.S. National Luge Team. To get to where she is today involved
goals and the motivation to achieve them through persistence, determination and
lots of hard work.
On September 4, Clukey, a 2003 graduate of Cony High School
in Augusta, was the motivational speaker for freshmen orientation at Wells High
School. She was introduced to the
audience by team leader for the freshman team and math teacher Andy Bridge.
Following a short film about her sports career thus far,
Clukey talked about being on the Junior Olympic Team and how, at just 17, she
became a member of the Senior Olympic Team, a spot that is normally for those
20 and older.
“This was a huge moment for me,” said Clukey to the
students. “I had reached my goal,
I made the senior team.” She
indicated that this experience showed her “how important it was to work hard
and how hard work was the one thing you are always going to own yourself.”
She told the audience in the WHS auditorium that her role
models are her parents and that “school” came first over sports in her
family. She told the group that
she has studied electrical engineering and was employed in the summer of 2012
in a marketing department creating graphic design.
Clukey has been a motivational speaker appearing at Maine
high schools for the past two years. She estimates she has spoken to 10,000
students in that time period.
“Anytime I get to meet new kids it’s great,” said Clukey.
“I’m always amazed by no matter where I go, there’s great kids everywhere and
they all have goals of their own and I love talking to them.”
Clukey competed in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and is
training to compete in the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
At Wells High School, Clukey also participated with senior
class officers in panel discussions on freshman life. Between panel discussions
she met students and signed posters.
