AMES, Iowa – More than 3,300 former Iowa State students walked the Hilton Coliseum stage to receive their degrees in mid-May, all having reached an important goal in life. But among the individuals earning their bachelor's degrees, only one was an Olympic silver medalist who had triumphed over adversity. His graduation ended a journey that had began more than 25 years earlier, a journey in which he realized the depth of feeling expressed on his behalf by the whole Iowa State University community.

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