Olympic star Karen gives pupils a pep talk
Olympic silver medal rower Karen Bennett visited St Kentigern’s Academy and Winchburgh Primary School recently to give pupils a motivational talk.
Karen, from Edinburgh, won silver in the recent Rio Olympics in the women’s eight competition and brought her medal, among other mementos from her time in Brazil, to show the pupils.
She took the time to talk about her journey through school and higher education, as well as advising the pupils about how to set achievable short and long-term goals and how that has helped her reach the top in her chosen sport.
And she discussed managing her emotions and how far having a positive mental attitude can take you.
St Kentigern’s Academy head teacher Andrew Sharkey said:“It was fantastic to meet Karen and our pupils were delighted to hear about how she applied herself and achieved her goals.
“She was a fantastic speaker and very inspirational to the pupils.”
Winchburgh Primary School acting head teacher Claire Pringle said:“Karen spoke to the children about her journey into rowing and all the sports she took part in through her time at school.
“She brought in items to show the children from her time in Rio, including her silver medal.
“She was an inspiration and we had several parents saying that their children went home enthused to tell them all about Karen.”