Gold medalist pays visit to Hazlet school
Teacher's winning essay garners new computers for students
BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer

ERIC SUCAR staff Kerri Walsh, who won two Olympic gold medals for women's beach volleyball, gives a group of students at Holy Family School tips on volleyball form during a visit to the school Oct. 16.

HAZLET — "Six Feet of Sunshine" came to Holy Family School on Oct. 16, not wearing her usual Nike bikini, but a white shirt and jeans.

All 6 feet 3 inches of two-time Olympic gold medalist in beach volleyball, Kerri Walsh came to the school not equipped with sporting goods, but with 20 ThinkPad laptops, a tablet computer, an LCD projector and an IdeaPad laptop all courtesy of Lenovo USA, a computer manufacturer.

Katey Patrizio, teacher of grades five through eight at the Hazlet school, won nearly $24,000 in prizes and a chance for the students at the school to meet the athlete who won gold medals in Sydney and Beijing.

"I really want to congratulate Mrs. Patrizio," Walsh said. "She absolutely was the gold medal winner. She won lots of goodies for your school, which is so exciting, and I know you guys will put it to good use."

Walsh said that she is always excited when she has the opportunity to visit schools and speak to students.

"I have traveled and I got a college education and I have two gold medals because as a little kid I was a big dreamer," Walsh said. "It all starts with a good school and education. It is so wonderful what Lenovo has done to help you guys achieve and chase your dreams."

She said that she read Patrizio's essay and shared many of her ideas.

"It's really special for me to be here as I grew up going to a Catholic school and the uniforms are very familiar to me," Walsh said. "My dream of Olympic stardom began when I was 10 years old in fifth grade. By the time I was in seventh and eighth grade I knew that I wanted to go to college and that took me to places I never imagined possible, many of which were mentioned in Mrs. Patrizio's essay."

Patrizio's essay was one of 356 entries submitted as part of the Racing Toward Innovation contest sponsored by Lenovo.

The contest's theme was a 200-word essay on technological innovations of the 21st century.

Patrizio chose the Internet.

"Room 208 is a magical place. Visitors here are time-travelers, exploring Victorian London through the eyes of a Dickensian character," Patrizio's essay begins. "They are eyewitnesses, hearing the firsthand account of a Holocaust survivor. They are literary critics, corresponding with the author of their favorite book. Most of all, they are students."

In the essay, Patrizio wrote about how important computers and the Internet have become in the classroom.

"They are Internet users. The development of the Internet has opened the world, past, present and future, to the average person," Patrizio wrote. "There is a boundless amount of opportunity on the Internet, creating a new type of student. This generation is simply not content to be told what they need to know by their teachers. They need to experience history for themselves, see the wonders of science and hear the rhythm of the great poets."

Walsh said that the Internet is important to her because as someone who does a lot of traveling, it keeps her in contact with her friends and family.

"It also helps study your opponents because you have to know your opponents better than yourself," Walsh said. "Misty [May-Treanor, her teammate] and I use it a lot to study and keep up with our opponents."

After congratulating Patrizio, Walsh took the time to answer questions from the students about her Olympic experience and about herself.

One student wanted to know whether or not she wore her two gold medals.

"I don't wear them because they are a little heavy," Walsh said. "Also they don't go with every outfit. I have two of them which is very special and I really enjoy bringing them around and sharing them with everyone because a lot of people have never seen a gold medal."

She said that at the Olympics she met all kinds of famous athletes such as Kobe Bryant, Roger Federer and Lisa Leslie.

"They are just kind of walking around the Olympic Village," Walsh said. "It's neat to just see them, and I am just in awe to see these people that I respect so much."

She said that volleyball is more than just a sport to her.

"I played other sports, but the first time I tried volleyball I fell in love with it and it changed everything," Walsh said. "It is just so much fun. Volleyball is where my heart is at."

She said that having the opportunity to participate in the Olympics is something you train for your entire life.

"Being in the Olympics is so special because you are competing with some of the best athletes in the entire world," Walsh said. "Every day when you go out at 5 in the morning and when you think you're too tired to go on or you have the worst attitude in the world, you go out there just to attain that goal."

Winning the gold medal for Walsh, she said, was a dream come true.

"To win a gold medal and officially be named the best in the world is inspiring because you are representing your country," Walsh said. "We are the best country in the world and I've traveled the world a hundred times and I am so proud to be an American. Being an American is about chasing your dreams and bringing your country together."

One student asked Walsh if she ever got nervous.

"I'm nervous all of the time," Walsh said. "I'm nervous right now. I'm just kind of a nervous person but I won't allow that to stop me."

One of the final questions was asked by a teacher who wanted to know if Walsh would consider doing the same as her volleyball partner Misty May-Treanor and sign up for "Dancing with the Stars."

"No, that's not for me," Walsh said. "I did go to watch and support her and she was awesome. But I'm more comfortable wearing my Converses and hanging out."

After the question-and-answer session, Walsh gave students tips on how to play volleyball on the volleyball court and posed for photographs with many of the students.

"I guess they can't get enough of you, Kerri Walsh," Holy Family School Principal Jacqueline G. Kraus said as students swarmed around Walsh.

Contact Jamie Romm at

jromm@gmnews.com.