12th May 2021
British sprinter and Tokyo Olympic hopeful Adam Gemili joined students to offer them advice as part of the College’s annual Inspiration Day.
Joining live from his home in Florida, Adam spent time talking to the students via zoom. He spoke of his career and the importance of gaining an education and how it has helped him and will help him going forward as he continues with his journey as a professional athlete.
The College’s annual Inspiration Day gives students the chance to hear from industry experts, take part in workshops and competitions and listen to inspirational people, such as Adam.
Adam was himself a student at Barking & Dagenham College, gaining a BTEC sports qualification, which he says was brilliant: “The course really opens your eyes to so much about sport you didn’t know; the nutrition, science, and biology of how the body works. The course helps you start to learn all about that and become better at sport.”
Since graduating from the College in 2012, Adam has gone on to compete in the London Olympics, has become a European champion, and was part of the GB team that won gold in the 4 x 100m at the 2017 World Championships.
His biggest piece of advice to the students was to really take education seriously. As Adam says: “You might be able to get away with doing the minimal amount of work for a little while, but it’s the people that do the hardest work and the smartest work that are successful in the end.”
He also discussed with the students the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people. Adam continued: “Surround yourself with like-minded people who are on the same sort of mission as you are and get a good support system around you – friends, family, your teachers, and teammates. Have patience and believe in yourself and don’t have any regrets.”
After answering all the students’ questions Adam just had time to wish the students well with their studies at the College and reminded them to ‘keep doing you and enjoy yourself’ before he needed to head off to training.
