She arrived at the school's gymnasium to speak to fourth graders who were in awe of Milford's achievements as part of the United States team that won wheelchair basketball gold at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

Milford was at the school as part of the Classroom Champions initiative pioneered by Steve Mesler, a key member of the US bobsled teams which won gold at the 2009 World Championships and 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

The initiative seeks to connect students in high need schools with elite athletes to help motivate them.

Previously, Milford had communicated with the students via video, discussing the importance of setting goals and sportsmanship, as well as sharing her Paralympic experiences.

Her visited coincided with the American National Wheelchair Basketball Championships.

"When I found out that the national tournament was going to be here, I called up Steve [Mesler] and said, "I have to meet my kids, this is going to be so cool."

"I'm sure a lot of these kids feel the same way I feel sometimes," she added.

"We can not control the circumstances that we were born into or that have conspired since we've been born.


"But we can control how we react to that situation.

"That's the message that I like to drive home.

"All these kids have adversity and differences and I think if they're told that their differences are cool, that's going to change their perspective on the situation."

The schoolchildren greeted her visit with enthusiasm.

"We feel like we know her because we've been corresponding back and forth through video, but it's really fun to actually see she really has been learning about them [the students]," Ann Yenne one of the teachers, said.

"She's so humble and yet so aware of what an important role she plays."

Milford will hope to be part of the US team competing for a third successive gold medal at this summer's Paralympic Games, where they will face Germany, whom they beat in the 2008 final in Beijing.

They also take on China, France and Mexico in the group stage of this summer's Games in London.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]