Chris Waddell, who won several medals as a disabled athlete after a skiing accident left him paralyzed from the waist down, shared an important message with students at World Academy in Nashua last Friday: "It’s not what happens to you; it’s what you do with what happens to you."

The inspirational words were part of Waddell’s hour-long presentation of his Nametags educational program, designed to empower students to live more productive and motivated lives, which he made to an audience of students in grades three through eight.

The program, which has been presented at hundreds of schools, encourages students to challenge the limitations and assumptions that result from "labels or nametags" people assign to themselves and others. It urges students, instead, to choose "the labels or nametags they wear."

The program, which Waddell co-created, uses speakers with disabilities to make students aware that although struggles in life are unavoidable, they and others have the opportunity to choose how they react to those challenges.

"There’s being a victim and there’s being a survivor," said Waddell while sharing the story of the tragic December 1988 accident, when he was a ski racer for Middlebury College in Vermont.

After a ski popped off while making a turn, Waddell fell, broke two vertebrae and damaged his spinal cord. The accident put him in a wheelchair.

"My life … changed really significantly in that moment," he recalled.

But Waddell said he went on to learn and achieve more than he could have imagined.

Only two months after the accident, Waddell returned to Middlebury and started monoskiing in less than a year. He joined the US Disabled Ski Team about two years later, and eventually became the most decorated male monoskier with a dozen Paralympics medals.

He won medals as a sit-skier in four Winter Paralympics over 10 years starting in 1992. He competed as a wheelchair track racer at three summer Paralympics, and in 2010 he was inducted into the Paralympic Hall of Fame.

"I couldn’t allow myself to quit," Waddell told the students. "I didn’t have the luxury of quitting."

Waddell’s Nametags presentation was a mix of his talk, and photos and videos, along with inspirational words from high achievers Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein and basketball great Michael Jordan, projected on a wall.

Students saw footage of Waddell on the slopes and photos of his trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2009 when he became the first paraplegic to reach the top of the African mountain, which has an elevation of 19,341 feet, nearly unassisted.

Nametags is offered by One Revolution Foundation, founded by Waddell and based in Park City, Utah, whose mission is "to turn the perception of disability upside down." Several other paralympians serve as presenters for the program, which Waddell started with resilience educator Donna Volpitta.

Waddell, who grew up in Granby, Mass., made his Nashua visit while spending three weeks on the road making presentations. His trip includes visits to Windham, New Ipswich and the North Country community of Bethlehem.

One Revolution has made more than 700 presentations to approximately 300,000 students.

Waddell, who had the students repeat his "it’s not what happens to you …" motto throughout his talk, wants them to know that they can triumph through adversity.

"So often, we want to look at failure as a brick wall," he said.

Each student was handed a Nametags card that features the program motto. Waddell encouraged students to write down how they want people to see them, place it somewhere where they can see it, and post a photo of themselves with their nametag on social media as part of a contest.

Following his talk, Waddell was presented with a gift, a miniature crystal globe, by student Tamara Golosarsky on behalf of the students and staff. It featured inscribed words: "Thank you for making a difference in our World Academy."

He apparently made a meaningful impact on his audience.

"He was awesome," said fourth-grader Evan Coleman after obtaining his autograph.

"He’s a real inspiration to a lot of kids," added another student, Raya Bajdek.

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