In recognition of Red Ribbon Week, the middle school welcomed inspirational athlete, motivational speaker and double leg amputee Rohan Murphy.

During his presentation, Murphy demonstrated a few of his wrestling moves, encouraged the students to chase their dreams, and spoke about the importance of making good life choices and his life motto, “No excuses.”

“Every single day in this world, ordinary people accomplish extraordinary things,” he said. “That’s what I wanted for myself. I wanted to do something remarkable, amazing, extraordinary.”

According to the National Family Partnership’s website, which sponsors the national event, Red Ribbon Week serves as a catalyst to mobilize communities to educate youth and encourage participation in drug prevention activities. The PTA, Stands of Excellence Committee and student government sponsored the assembly program.

“We brought in guest speaker Rohan Murphy to cover the areas of making positive choices as they apply to kindness and compassion, as well as peer pressure for drugs,” said social worker and student government co-adviser Shari Pennington. “We want our students to understand that their choices can determine whether they are successful in their lives.”