Olympic gold medalist Lauryn Williams delivered messages of hard work and the importance of a good education to students at Baden Academy on Friday morning.
She earned a silver medal in bobsledding and told students at the charter school that participating in the sport was a great opportunity.
"This time I wasn't working by myself, I was working as part of a team," Williams said.
The four-time Olympian told the students in kindergarten through fourth grades that she began running at age 9. Her journey included practicing and studying hard in school, which helped land her a scholarship to the University of Miami.
Taking questions from students, Williams said she now works out three hours a day, six days a week.
"In order to be an Olympic athlete, your main job is to exercise everyday," she said.
But Williams also said she likely won't participate in the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She said she likes math and plans to use her degree to be a financial planner for athletes.
Lauren Bensink, Baden Academy CEO, said the school was delighted to have Williams come in and speak. She read Williams an email from board member Marta Karwoski, one of Williams' former Rochester teachers. Bensink said Karwoski was out of town and couldn't be there.
Kara Best, a kindergarten teacher at Baden Academy, invited Williams to the school
Best said she and Williams were classmates at Rochester High School, where they both served as editors on the school paper. Williams also visited her old high school in Rochester on Friday.
"Lauryn Williams was always a good student and she's a very good friend," Best told the assembly, before introducing Williams.