Skater urges Westfield kids to dream big
You should have seen the looks on the kids' faces at Westfield School when alum and award-winning pairs skater Rockne Brubaker, 21, chatted with them about following their dreams.
Brubaker, an Algonquin native, was in town for a week to visit his family -- he hadn't seen them since Christmas -- and decided to spread his can-do attitude to kids at Westfield and Jacobs High School.
I covered his talk at Westfield last week, where the kids were absolutely mesmerized.
After giving a brief speech about his time at the school and what he's now doing, Brubaker took questions from the audience.
As a treat, Brubaker brought autographed photos of himself and his partner Keauna McLaughlin for the kids, raffled off six U.S. Figure Skating lapel pins, and let everyone get a closer look at the gold medal he and McLaughlin won at the U.S. Figure Skating National Championships earlier this year.
Their success earned them a spot in the "Stars on Ice" show in Denver earlier this month that included world-class skaters Sasha Cohen, Todd Eldridge and Michael Weiss.
Brubaker now trains in Colorado Springs with his younger brother Colin, 18. Brubaker has been living there since he was 17.
He's been skating since he was 5 and took his first classes in East Dundee at what was then the Polar Dome.
He and his partner, members of the U.S. team, are ranked No. 1 in the country and No. 5 in the world.
"It wasn't all that easy, it took a lot of time to get to that point," Brubaker told the Westfield students.
His teachers remembered Brubaker as a dedicated student and a gifted athlete.
"We've never had a celebrity come out of Westfield," said Ann Spears, Brubaker's former sixth-grade teacher. She arranged his talk at Westfield. "I would think this is the first one."
I thought I'd leave you with some facts about Brubaker.
According to usfigureskating.org, his favorite movies are "Scarface," "The Godfather," "Ladder 49," "Casino" and "The Departed."
He lists his mother, Monica, as his favorite celebrity.
His favorite food is salami and he loves to drink chocolate milk.
And here are some of the things he told the kids.
• "Always stay in school and have a backup plan because you'll use it."
• "You learn more from your failures than your successes. They're an opportunity to learn, grow and make yourself better."
• "There's been plenty of times I skated just the opposite of what you guys just saw."
All about women:
McHenry County College is kicking off Women's History Month with a film festival featuring three flicks -- "Gorgeous," "Made Over in America" and "Breasts" -- about body image and beauty directed by three women. The film festival runs from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday in the MCC conference center. For information, visit www.mchenry.com/women or call (815) 455-8735.
As you can imagine, these films are recommended for mature audiences.