Overcoming Adversity

<p>Chris Gardner is an entrepreneur, international best-selling author and an   award winning film producer. Gardner’s autobiography, <i>The Pursuit of HappYness</i> became a New York Times #1 best seller, has been translated into over forty languages, including six (6) dialects of Chinese and most recent into Arabic. </p><p>Gardner is also the inspiration for the critically acclaimed film <i>The Pursuit of HappYness</i> for which Will Smith received the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award nominations for his performance.

<p>One of the biggest national abduction news stories of our time, the kidnapping and recovery of Elizabeth Smart captured the nation’s attention from June 5, 2002, when she was taken at knifepoint, to when the police safely returned her back to her family on March 12, 2003. Held prisoner for 9 grueling months, repeatedly threatened and tormented, Smart emerged a symbol of perseverance and strength when she triumphantly testified before her captor and the world about her very private nightmare.</p>

<p>Molly Barker is an American educator, social entrepreneur, and visionary. She is best known as the founder of Girls on the Run International, the self-esteem, youth-development and healthy lifestyle program for third- to eighth-grade girls. </p><p>Molly Barker started Girls on the Run International in 1996 with 13 girls in Charlotte, NC. Since then, the program has grown to include schools in all 50 states, inspiring over 2.5 million girls to know and activate their limitless potential.

<p>An inspiring legend who turned dreams into reality, Jim Abbott is a powerful voice on resilience, determination, and redefining what’s possible.</p><p> Despite being born without a right hand, Jim Abbott always dreamed of playing Major League Baseball. Against all odds, he made that dream a reality. From winning the Sullivan Award as the nation’s top amateur athlete to pitching a gold medal win for Team USA at the 1988 Olympics and throwing a no-hitter for the New York Yankees in 1993, Jim's career stands as a testament to perseverance over perceived limitations.

<p>Kunal Nayyar is living proof that nerd is the new cool. It&#39;s probably no coincidence that CBS premiered its pocket-protected instant hit, "The Big Bang Theory" just months before "People" magazine dubbed 2007 "The Year of the Nerd."</p><p>A natural performer, Nayyar began acting in musicals and plays at a young age. After high school, he left India for the United States where he majored in business and took many acting classes at the University of Portland.

<p>World-class athlete and best-selling author Kyle Maynard has never considered his physical differences to be a disability, but rather just another obstacle that cannot stop him from realizing his dreams.</p><p>On first sight, Maynard is obviously exceptional. He is a quadruple congenital amputee, which means that his arms end at the elbows, and his legs extend to just past his knees. His adamant refusal to accept the limitations of this condition, however, is what truly sets him apart.

<p>Freeman A. Hrabowski, III -- a charismatic leader who was jailed for almost a week as a 12-year-old in the fight for civil rights in the early-'60s Alabama -- has spent two decades as the president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) striving to channel minorities toward grad school. His research and publications focus on science and math education with special emphasis on minority participation and performance.

<p>Amy Van Dyken is a 6-time Olympic gold medal champion swimmer who made history as the most successful athlete at the ’96 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia and the first American female athlete to win four gold medals in a single Olympic games.</p>

<p>Van Dyken began swimming at age six in an effort to relieve childhood asthma, through which she developed a strong "will to win." That strength made her a star in the ‘96 Games, despite competing with about 65% of normal lung capacity.</p>

<p>RJ Mitte engages, educates and inspires with candid discussion of transforming obstacles into assets and preventing bullying.</p><p>RJ is best known for playing Walt Jr. on the Emmy-winning AMC drama <i>Breaking Bad</i>, – like his character on the show, he also battles with cerebral palsy.

<p>With a story that is simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting, Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton demonstrate that we are all capable of compassion and change, no matter how dire the circumstances. </p>