A three-time Paralympian in archery and St. Cloud State rehabilitation counseling student spoke April 13 in the Atwood Memorial Center ballroom.
Aaron Cross gave the keynote address “Focus on Your Target” for the School of Health and Human Services’ Spring Colloquium.
Cross is a three-time Paralympian in archery, winning the gold medal with his teammates in Athens in 2004. He has been giving performances for the past 23 years and working as a professional motivational speaker for the past 14 years.
He uses personal stories, emotions, videos and demonstrations to take people on a life journey to change their views and see things in a positive way, he said.
Aaron Cross is a three time Paralympian in archery and a St. Cloud State rehabilitation counseling graduate student who will give the School of Health and Human Services Spring Colloquium address.
“To speak in front of your professors, peers, or anyone for that matter, can seem overwhelming, but for me it’s an adrenaline rush,” Cross said. “I love being on stage, every time I hear my introduction being read I feel on top of the world. For that one brief moment in time, I feel a profound purpose — make them laugh, cry, inspire and believe all in 60 minutes.”
Cross has a spinal cord injury he received in 1991 while doing pre-Olympic trials for bike racing.
The colloquium address followed Embracing the Difference: The Ability Event. The Ability Event is separate from the colloquium and was put on by the rehabilitation counseling department to bring awareness of the ability that persons with disability have.
