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Freshman Kyle Maynard was born with
short appendages where most people have arms and legs, but
nothing seems out of reach for him. He chose to start attending
UGA last semester, he says, because of the prestigious academic
reputation and because of the great athletic programs. The
winner of numerous national awards and recognition, Maynard
graduated from high school with a wrestling record of 35 wins
and 16 losses and a 3.7 GPA. At UGA, he continues wrestling
and working as a professional motivational speaker with one
of the nation's largest speaker's bureaus. He loves to help
other people realize their potential, and is currently writing
an autobiographical, motivationally-themed book entitled No
Excuses that will be published this fall by Regnery Publishing
Company.
Expected graduation: May
2008
Degree objective: B.A. in Broadcast News
University highlights, achievements and awards:
I am the recipient of a 2004 ESPN Espy Award for the Best
Athlete With A Disability. I have been featured on HBO's Real
Sports, CNN, Spike TV, ESPN's Cold Pizza, Larry
King Live and The Early Show. I also recently
spent a week with a writer from Rolling Stone Magazine.
I have been on various international radio interviews, including
Howard Stern. I was in Vanity Fair Magazine and Abercrombie
and Fitch's winter issue. I was also featured in a cover story
in USA Today. I have been in Sports Illustrated,
ESPN The Magazine, USA Wrestling, and
Reader's Digest also.
Current employment:
I currently speak publicly for the Washington Speaker's Bureau,
based in Washington D.C. Other speakers in the bureau include
Dan Rather, James Carville, Sean Hannity, and Terry Bradshaw.
High School: Collins Hill
High School
Hometown: Suwanee, Georgia
Family ties:
I have three younger sisters who are very beautiful and bright
young girls. They will attend the university someday.
I choose to attend UGA because...
...the university is the top college in all of the south when
you combine their prestigious academics and athletics. I also
choose to go here because I want to continue my wrestling
career, and I have that opportunity.
My favorite things to do on campus
are...
...to hang out around the Ramsey Center and catch my favorite
movies at the Tate Theatre.
When I have free time, I like...
...to be with my friends from all over the campus, but lately
free time has been hard to come by with all of my travels.
The craziest thing I've done is...
...win the "World's Strongest Teen" title by butterflying
(modified bench pressing) 240 pounds for 23 repetitions.
My favorite place to study is...
...the study rooms in Reed Hall, because I can be alone all
night to study and I can crank the air conditioning to stay
awake!
My favorite professor is...
...E.M. Beck from my Intro to Sociology class, because I can
tell he cares about a lot of individual students even though
the class is a full lecture hall in the Student Learning Center.
If I could share an afternoon with
anyone, I would love to share it with...
...Jim Caviezel. He is the actor who portrayed Jesus in the
movie The Passion of the Christ. We had a very interesting
conversation at the Espy Awards and I'd love to be able to
continue that talk.
If money was not a consideration,
I would love to...
...coach a wrestling team of my own and mentor as
many children as I could.
After graduation, I plan to...
...continue speaking for the Washington Speaker's Bureau and
eventually open a chain of fitness/wellness centers around
the U.S.
The one UGA experience I will always
remember will be...
...my very first collegiate wrestling match against a 3-time
South Carolina state champion who is currently ranked extremely
high in our weight class. It was a "welcome to collegiate
wrestling" type of experience. He did beat me in the
match by points, but I pinned his next opponent in less than
a minute.
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