Olympian teaches students about adversity, teamwork at Baldonnel Elementary School

BALDONNEL, B.C. — An Olympian graced the halls of Baldonnel Elementary School as part of a mentoring and leadership program last week.

Canadian bobsledder Melissa Lotholz visited classrooms and was the focal point of an assembly conducted at the school on Friday, April 4th.

The day ended with a skate at Taylor District Ice Centre in the afternoon.

The two-time Olympian began her career as the brakewoman for Kaillie Humphries, eventually becoming the pilot of her own sled at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

She spoke to the kids about facing adversity, pointing to a World Cup medal she won in Lillehammer, Norway in February.

“[Leah Walkeden] got super sick that week,” said Lotholz. “She decided to give up her race position to our teammate [Skylar Sieben].

“We did it as a team. What I told the kids is teamwork [might] be contributing to an outcome, but it could also be selflessly giving someone up a spot.”

Originally from Barrhead, Alberta, Lotholz visited the school as part of the program Classroom Champions.

The initiative, founded in 2009 by American bobsledder Steve Mesler and his sister Dr. Leigh Parise, pairs athletes together with students in order to support social and emotional learning and academic performance.

Baldonnel teacher Elaine McEachern put in a request to connect with the Classroom Champions program after seeing a notice on the School District 60’s website.

“They put out a bit talking about other teachers in the district doing it,” McEachern said. “I had social and emotional learning plans, but wanted something different.

“I read about it and it sounded really good. So, I signed up.”

Lotholz had been mentoring McEachern’s classes long distance, and the teacher describes the children meeting the bobsledder as a “hero moment.”

“All year long we’d been doing lessons about goal-setting and persisting when times are hard,” said McEachern, adding the children have been involved with fundraising efforts for the BCSPCA and Fort St. John Hospital’s Peace Villa.

“[Lotholz] talked to the kids about how important it is to persist through challenges and how folks from small places can be world-class athletes.”

As part of the speaking engagement, students prepared their own homemade bobsleds and participated in a race in the school gym.

Lotholz said the students did a “great job” in their bobsled designs and, when asked, said “you never know” if she might borrow something as she prepares for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, Italy. 

Since its inception, Classroom Champions has provided more than $10 million in scholarships to communities, according to its LinkedIn profile.

Further details about Classroom Champions can be found on the program’s website.