“I ask myself every single day, what success looks like today. You can do that too!” - Emma Wiggs MBE Inspires the students at John Ferneley College on our Bowbridge Homes programme
Bowbridge Homes Bronze Presentation Programme with Emma Wiggs MBE at John Ferneley College – November 2021
What a brilliant morning for the students at John Ferneley College, as they had a very special visit from the inspirational double Paralympic champion, Emma Wiggs MBE! Our partners, Bowbridge Homes, kindly sponsored this programme and helped to inspire hundreds of young people during out morning at John Ferneley College.
Emma recently returned from the Tokyo Paralympic Games and won an incredible Gold and Silver medal, on top of her already numerous Paracanoe titles. During this brilliant programme, Emma was able to spend the morning inspiring the students at John Ferenely College with her impressive stories of success but also the incredible challenges that she has overcome along her journey so far.
To begin the day, Emma explored her journey from being 18 years old to the point she became disabled, and the long road to becoming a Paralympic champion. With some of the most influential messages coming through while the students watched Emma performing at her 57 seconds best time, they also got to see Emma display some incredible levels of resilience, determination, and the courageous response she showed in the face of adversity, through her transition into Paracanoe.
Emma inspired the students to have a positive growth mindset in everything they do and said, “there is nothing special about me, I just set myself a goal and worked through all of the necessary steps to reach that goal.”
During their time with Emma, the students really engaged with Emma’s recipes for success, as she asked them questions about what ‘their gold is’, their aspirations and what they wanted to achieve in their own lives, which Emma explained to them was completely possible if they set their mind to a plan and followed through with it.
When asked how Emma competes against her friends and other competitors, Emma explained that, “comparison is the thief of joy”, and that comparing themselves to others wouldn’t help the students on their own paths to success.
During our morning, Emma gave the students the opportunity to ask any questions they had about her life and career so far, some of the best questions were:
How does it feel to win a gold medal?
How did you get into canoeing?
How many hours do you train per day?
What is your motivation?
We saw incredible enthusiasm from the staff and students at John Ferneley College as part of this amazing Bowbridge Homes Programme and we can’t wait to hear all of the success stories that come from this college in the future. Thanks to Bowbridge Homes, the students at John Ferneley college were able to meet and hear from the amazing Emma Wiggs MBE and we look forward to hopefully visiting them again soon in the future with another of our Ambassadors!
We also received some brilliant feedback from the staff at John Ferneley College for this programme which you can read below.
“I have literally just received another email from one of the maths teachers who was In for the assembly, saying how much she loved the talk. I had both Heads of Years saying how incredible Emma was in the talks and how the students felt so inspired from Emma’s story.
I found the video so moving and for the students to see what Emma went through, but how she has overcome obstacles and achieve what she has was great. How Emma changed her mindset and how her positive outlook on life has kept her motivated. Just amazing!
There was such an enormous buzz around the School for the rest of the day. I spoke to students and they absolutely loved it. To see the students face when Emma held up her medals and how Emma let the students hold the medals, it was honestly just so amazing!“
If you are interested in a virtual or physical programme with Emma Wiggs MBE or any of our other inspirational Ambassadors, then please get in touch via the Mintridge website at www.mintridgefoundation.org.uk or with Katie at katie@mintridge.org.uk.
Team Mintridge
The Mintridge Foundation is a registered charity dedicated to enhancing life skills in young people through sport. We provide a support network for young people by harnessing the power of positive sporting role models. The Mintridge Foundation assists young people of all ages, abilities, and physical capabilities to develop confidence and resilience, and creates awareness of the importance of mental and physical wellbeing through sport.
Our team of Ambassadors - Olympians, Paralympians and other professional sports stars from over 20 sports, both team and individual - work with young people in schools, clubs and academies across the UK. Starting with visits including assemblies, coaching clinics and classroom sessions tailored to each organisation’s requirements, our ambassadors can then provide one- on- one remote mentoring in a safeguarded environment, delivered via technology such as FitSwarm and Playwaze to build a lasting legacy for individuals.
The Mintridge Foundation’s successes demonstrate the incredible power of sport; from a mentee’s selection to represent Great Britain in their chosen field to enabling disabled children to find confidence and happiness just through participation. Understanding life after sport, we also support our Ambassadors in their transition from active sport to the next stage of their careers.
To find out more about the Mintridge Foundation, please contact Alex Wallace.
Team Mintridge
