NBA & WNBA Stars Inspire in Visit to ICS Addis

Walking into the Grade 2 hub on Wednesday, there were two people who stood out among the class.

Sylvia Fowles is a four-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time WNBA champion. Vladomir Radmanovic played 12 years in the NBA with seven different teams. They were on campus this week as part of a tour with the US State Department aimed at inspiring the next generation of athletes and citizens.

The pair visited two grade levels in the Elementary School, taking part in classroom activities and answering questions, before leading a clinic with the ICS High School basketball teams.

On top of telling stories from their storied careers, Sylvia and Vladomir spoke to the students about the journeys to success and shared lessons they learned in basketball that apply to rest of their lives.

"I faced challenges throughout my career, and the way I got through them was to treat them as learning experiences," Sylvia told the group of athletes. "You learn from an experience and you have to wake up the next day and be better. You do the little things each day that make you a little bit better. You stick to them, and those little things go a long way to being successful in basketball and in life."

"Commitment is such an important factor in being successful in life," Vladomir said. "If you go to bed at night and you know you did your best, then you can wake up and be proud of wherever you are in the journey. You can surround yourself with people who hold you accountable, with people who encourage you to be better, and you can build trust with those people who want you to grow."

Check out the video above to see some highlights from their visit! A big thanks to the US Embassy in Addis Ababa for helping us organize this event!