STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Paralympian Chris Waddell, named an Unsung Hero of Compassion by the Dalai Lama, will be the speaker at the Sun Valley Community School’s Commencement ceremony on Sunday, June 2.

Forty-five students will graduate in the ceremony at 1 p.m. Sunday, June 2, at the Sun Valley Pavilion.

Waddell was a student at Middlebury College when he was paralyzed in a skiing accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. He went on to win 13 medals as a Paralympic sit-skier and compete as a wheelchair track athlete.

He summited Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2009 in the first near-unassisted paraplegic summit of that mountain. He authored two books, launched an adventure travel show and podcast titled “Chris Waddell: Living It.” And he co-founded the One Revolution Foundation, which contends that “It’s not what happens to you, it’s what you do with what happens to you.”

“Chris came highly recommended as a graduation speaker from some of our Cutthroat alumni and current SVCS parents who have known him since their time together at Middlebury,” said Head of School Ben Pettit. “He has dedicated his life to helping others develop resilience and his story is defined by grit, self-determination, and compassion—qualities directly connected to our mission as a school.”