SHAMOKIN DAM -- Two simple life lessons played heavily in Keli Smith's ability to grow as a student-athlete at Selinsgrove Area High School into captain of the U.S. women's field hockey team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Both lessons, she says, could serve young entrepreneurs in succeeding in school and later hitting it big in the business world.
"First, you have to have a plan and then you have to believe," said Smith, who was honored Thursday by EconomicsPennsylvania with its annual Adam Smith Leadership Award. "I used to go through life by the seat of my pants, but it doesn't work like that. At times, I used to wonder if I was ever good enough, but I learned from my dad to never question my ability."
Smith said those lessons paid off after high school, by her helping the University of Maryland field hockey team win an NCAA Division I national championship and again, when the U.S. women's team rebounded after not qualifying for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens to earn a spot in the Beijing Games.
"People always ask me about the Olympics, really about my time hanging out with LeBron James and having lunch with Michael Phelps," Smith said of the professional basketball player and Olympic swimming star. "The truth is they're people just like us.
"What I really took from my experience was the life lessons."
EconomicsPennsylvania, a nonprofit organization focused on providing opportunities for students to study economics in school, recognized three other award winners during a luncheon Thursday at Tedd's on the Hill in Shamokin Dam.
Jessica Ranck, a senior at Lewisburg Area High School, became the first-ever recipient of the Carolyn B. Fischer Award for her academic achievement and community involvement.
Ranck, who competes in track and field, also succeeds in the classroom as a member of the National Honor Society and National Foreign Language Honor Society.
Ranck volunteers with the American Red Cross and teaches dance lessons.
Others honored
Other award winners included Daphne Ross, superintendent of Montgomery Area School District, who received the Victor Skotedis Award as educator of the year, and Robert Watson, a freshman at Rochester Institute of Technology and graduate of Jersey Shore Area High School, who received The Don Rosini Award as student of the year.
State Rep. Russell Fairchild, R-85 of Lewisburg, who nominated Smith for the leadership award, introduced the Selinsgrove native as a role model for all Valley students.
"You don't get to be a world-class athlete without hard work and dedication," Fairchild said. "She is not only a tremendous athlete but was an exceptional student.
"What an example she serves to our kids that hard work and perseverance pays off. Sometimes that gets lost in today's society."
n E-mail comments to jnorth@dailyitem.com.
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Valley Olympian: Never question your ability
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