Presentation teaches students to never give up on goals

March 10, 2005

STORM LAKE - Students from St. Mary's in Storm Lake recently had a lesson centered on the ability to turn a setback into a comeback.

He may only have one arm, three toes on one foot, two different sizes of feet, and one leg longer than the other, but in no way did it distract from the heartfelt message that Ron "Gus" Gustafson delivered to St. Mary's students March 2 during a school assembly and a crowd of adults that evening.

Gustafson, who prefers to go by Gus, is a nationally known speaker on how to overcome obstacles in life and how to "turn a set-back, into a come-back." At the age of only nine years old, his right arm and shoulder were amputated due to a farming accident.

Since then, he has learned to deal with occurrences of everyday life, including what may seem to most people as simple tasks, like getting dressed or driving, to much more complicated tasks, such as playing basketball or juggling with one hand.

Gus also carried on the tradition held in his family of successful basketball careers, as he was named to the Honorable Mention All-State team his senior year of high school. Due to knee injuries, he was forced to end his college career earlier than anticipated.

However, all of these situations brought the heart of Gustafson's message to the audience, and that was, to "Never, EVER, give up!" Secondly, he told students, teachers, and parents, to always have the courage to face the next challenge life presents to you.

"I thought Gus was an awesome speaker. His story that he told was very inspiring. I feel I would have just given up on life if I was in his case. He didn't give up though, he kept trying and he was able to live through his problem. I took away from him that I can't give up on things. If he was able to make it through his experience, I can do anything," said Emily Godfredson, a tenth grade student.

Melissa Hoye, a senior, said she was inspired by the speaker's excellent attitude.

"He made jokes about his situation and his sense of humor along with his enthusiastic personality made him very enjoyable to hear. Ron drilled his main points of 'Never give up,' and 'Always be willing to accept the next challenge.' Through Ron's experiences, I learned that anything is really possible if you put your mind to it. Now I have heard that before, but Ron proved it in his presentation," said Hoye.

Sixth grade student Connor Richardson, said, "Even though he lost his arm, he never had a bad attitude. He didn't stop until he succeeded. No matter how big the challenge, never give up! Keep trying and you'll succeed too."

Danielle Waites, eighth grade student, said Gustafson has showed her many new ways of looking at things. His points of view on everyday life struggles have shown me that looking at the bright side of things can totally change the way other people see you.

"Ron mentioned that a lot of his former coaches said, 'That little one armed Gustafson kid may be good enough for the junior high and high school team, but he will never be able to play on my team.' He showed his family and friends that he was good enough. He went on to play college basketball, but blew out his knee two times and he knew he had to quit. He graduated in the top of his class. He has taught me that not only should you give one hundred and ten percent, but also you should never give up and have the courage to take on the next challenge that comes your way," said Waites.

Leigh Vander Woude, eighth grade student, said when Gustafson came to speak she figured it would be another one of those boring speeches that last forever.

"I figured wrong, because the first thing he started with was a joke. I had realized that this man had suffered a huge set back when he was very young. And yet here he was sharing how he overcame this reality. I realized that whatever life gives you, you can always make the best of a bad situation. No one can tell you what you can do and if they try, make it your goal to prove them wrong," said Vander Woude.

For more information on Ron Gustafson and his story, visit: www.fullyarmed.com