Author: pvarone

I have now been back in Washington, DC for four days and have had some much needed time to reflect on this incredible experience and opportunity, and I must say that after spending 18 days in Paris and witnessing the magic of the Olympics in person is something that will be apart of me for the rest of my life. 

Previous blog posts may have captured glimpses into the activities or highlights from my Paris experience such as brunch at the Eiffel Tower before a beach volleyball match, the electrifying stadium during the Men’s 100m Final, or the number of spectacular guest speakers that took time out of their busy schedules to speak share their insights and stories with our class, but this trip/experience/opportunity showed me and taught me more about humanity and the achievements that we as global citizens can attain than anything I have ever been a part of before.

I truly believe that words cannot give this experience justice and I am beyond grateful and privileged that I was able to participate in this study abroad program.  As a class, we learned from events and sports industry experts and had access to areas that average spectators cannot get access to such as the Olympic Village, the Olympic Club, and the International Broadcasting Center that I may never have the chance to visit again, even if I attend the Olympics for the rest of my life.  This program is truly a once in a lifetime experience and I cannot express my gratitude enough.

There is nothing comparable to the Olympics whether talking about sheer size of this mega-event taking over a whole country or in the way that it celebrates humanity and our accomplishments through sport.  But like one of the slogans for these Games, “Sport. More than sport,” I now understand that it really is more than just sport.  In our second class in May Terrence gave a lecture on how the Olympics celebrates humanity and is more than sport. The Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement is about hope for a better world;  It is about providing humanity with the inspiration to achieve personal dreams and goals through lessons learned from the perseverance, sacrifice, heartbreak and triumph of the athletes;  It is about friendship and fair play providing tangible examples of lifting others up and cheering for those no matter their background or where they come from; and lastly, it is about joy in effort.

One story that resonates with me from Janet Evans, an Olympian and gold medalist from the 1988 and 1992 Games, is when she carried the Olympic Torch in the stadium during the 1996 Atlanta Games and handed it off to Muhammad Ali.  Now that is an experience in its own right, but what resonates with me is how she described the hundreds of athletes from nations who might not have had the best chances of medaling and were in awe of the torch and being able to represent their nations in front of the world.  To me, this story is a prime example of joy in effort and how the Olympics celebrates humanity. 

This was truly an incredible experience and I know this will not be the last time I attend the Games in person.

As I sit on my flight home from Paris I try to collect my thoughts from the past 18 days and it is honestly too much to comprehend at the moment and hard to put into words, but I will try my best to describe this experience before getting back into my routine and day-to-day life. 

First, I would like to thank Dr. Neirotti, Terrence and Lisa for imparting their knowledge and expertise onto the class, showing us how the Olympic movement is so much more than a global sporting competition every four years , and sharing their love of an event that celebrates the best parts of humanity.  The combined experience between the three leaders of this course is unmatched and is something that I don’t believe anyone will ever understand unless they participate in this experience like the lucky few who are selected. 

Now to get into my initial closing thoughts of this incredible experience (my full reflection will come once I’m able to wrap my head around what I just experienced)… There is something special about the Olympics that brings individuals from all walks of life together from the incredible feats of the athletes competing at the highest level to the hardworking everyday people who help the Olympics and the host city shine there is something to be said to the amazing achievements of humans when they come together for an event like this.  Working in events for nearly a decade I had some idea of what it takes to plan and execute events for tens of thousands of people, but on this trip I gained invaluable insights and made observations about the monster undertaking of planning one of, if not the largest event in the world. 

Paris using iconic and historical backgrounds added to the magic of these Games and the people of Paris and around the world made this experience unforgettable for me. My love for the Olympic Movement and the Games has grown exponentially from this trip and I am still not entirely sure the past two and half weeks actually happened or if they were just a dream.  After a few days to comprehend what I experienced, I will be able to give a better reflection, but for now my time in Paris has come to an end, but the end isn’t always a bad thing.