Gardner-Webb University
Noel T. Manning, II
Dir. of Univ. & Media Relations
(704) 406-4631
February 21, 2006
“Judy Siegle is one of those rare individuals who can touch your heart when you meet her for the first time and every time she crosses your life. Judy shares how she found the inner strength and support to rise above the personal adversities in her life. Judy is an inspiration and a guiding star for how all of us can choose to fully live our lives,” Dorothy McIntyre, Associate Director of the Minnesota State High School League has been quoted in saying.
Judy Siegle will be speaking at the Gardner-Webb Dimensions Service on Tuesday, February 21, at 9:25 a.m. in the Lutz-Yelton Convocation Center on the Gardner-Webb campus. This particular Dimensions service is part of the Gardner-Webb Disability Awareness Week.
Siegle was a high school basketball star with a promising future. But in a split second, Siegle’s dream of playing college basketball was shattered when a drunk driver sped through a stop sign near her hometown of Pelican Rapids, Minnesota. The car crash left her with a broken neck. At 18, she faced life confined to a wheelchair. Months of intense rehabilitation and years of hard work followed. Tempting as it was, she never gave up, never limited herself. Wheelchair racing grabbed hold of Siegle and she became one of the world’s elite racers, taking over the national record books along the way having competed in the 1996 Paralympics in Atlanta and the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney, Australia.
From playing basketball to wheelchair racing to living a full life, the game goes on. And Judy continues to put her heart and soul into it. “I don’t always know what is in store for me from day to day,” notes Siegle. “But this is where I am today. I’ll give it my best and do so with a grateful heart.”
Gardner-Webb University’s Dimensions programs are free and open to the public. The goal of Dimensions is to enhance the spiritual, intellectual and cultural life of the University and also to promote a sense of community. Dimensions are held on Tuesdays at 9:25 a.m. in the Lutz-Yelton Convocation Center (LYCC). The LYCC is located across from Suttle Wellness Center on the GWU campus.