阿德里安娜内脏 Inspires Students to Cross the Finish Line

When she arrived on stage in Jewett Auditorium for her LeadBLUE事件, a speaker series designed to inspire 韦尔斯利’s student-athletes 和 the 韦尔斯利 community as a whole, 阿德里安娜内脏 described falling in love with ballroom dancing as a child. She saw Ginger Rogers 和 Fred Astaire dancing on the television 和 told her parents, “I want to be Ginger Rogers when I grow up.” 

To pursue her dream of professional ballroom dancing, she moved from her hometown near Seattle to Boston, 她在那里教舞蹈, 和 she eventually competed internationally.

Haslet stumbled across the Boston Marathon while walking around the city on April 15, 2013. She had no idea what it was. “I [had] lived here for five years by then, but I danced 14 hours a day,”她说。. Curious, Haslet stopped to watch the runners go by. “It was probably 10 minutes later when a blast went off, 和 my life changed.” 

Domestic terrorists had planted two homemade bombs near the finish line of the marathon route, killing three people 和 injuring 281. Haslet was two feet away from the second bomb when it exploded. She lost her left leg, 和 almost her life. 

就在几天之后, Haslet told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that she hoped to dance again 和 run in the Boston Marathon. “It felt so good to say those dreams out loud,” she told the 韦尔斯利 audience. Cooper called her the next day 和 said his interview with her was his most-watched interview ever at the time. He proposed that they document her first year as an amputee, 和 hopefully her dancing again or running.

What will get you to the finish line is nothing compared to what got you to the start.

阿德里安娜内脏, professional speaker 和 advocate for people with disabilities

While Haslet was originally hesitant to film her recovery, Cooper gave her the option to back out at any time, 于是她同意了. 这部纪录片, 幸存者日记该片于2014年上映.  

靠谱的电子游戏app a year after the bombing, Haslet was able to dance again thanks to a prosthetic leg, 和 she performed a ballroom dance at a TED大会. But she still had her goal of running the Boston Marathon to fulfill. “Witnessing the Boston Strong love that was there, I just thought the only way I know to give back is to run this race as a giant hug to Boston, 和 to be triumphant 和 show them the Boston Strong love right back,”她说。. 

Haslet completed her first Boston Marathon in 2016 和 her second in 2018. She was training for the 2019 marathon when she was hit by a car. Back in the hospital with a seriously injured left arm, Haslet was prepared to give up on running altogether. But not long after she got out of the hospital, still with very little mobility in her left arm, the Boston Athletic Association told her it was adding a 残疾人体育部 to the marathon, something Haslet had been advocating for. Haslet went on to run the 2022 Boston Marathon, 和 she took fourth in her division.

Haslet said she’s learned a very important lesson in the 10 years since the bombing: “What will get you to the finish line is nothing compared to what got you to the start.” When you’re up against something huge, 她说, whether you’re st和ing at the starting line with 26.在你前面2英里, or you have a massive paper due, or it’s your first day at 韦尔斯利, “We so often forget all of the things that brought us to that point.在她的情况下, 她说, “I had to learn how to walk again, I had to learn how to dance, I had to learn how to navigate a New Engl和 winter, 和 I learned how to start maybe loving the body that I have now after not questioning it for 32 years.”

Haslet is now a professional speaker, 和 she continues to advocate for people with disabilities 和 visit amputees in hospitals. “I want to advocate for others 和 make them feel less alone, because I truly believe in my bones that PTSD is worse when you're going through something 和 you feel alone,”她说。.  

LeadBLUE is a program designed to prepare 韦尔斯利’s student-athletes for leadership roles. The speaker series is open to the entire campus community. Previous speakers have included 斯凯勒Bailar 和 对此匆匆.