About 5,000 elementary school students learned some valuable lessons Monday - not in their classrooms but at Blair County Ballpark.
Fourth- through sixth-grade students from Blair and Cambria counties basked in the sunshine to listen to several inspirational speakers during the Beating the Odds Foundation's 20th anniversary rally.
"The purpose of the program is to encourage kids to achieve their dreams, to teach them a formula for success," foundation President and founder Rocco Scalzi said. "The ultimate goal is to help our youth to achieve success in life. The most important message is not to give up."
Several of the foundation's "Quarterbacks of Life," who have overcome obstacles to achieve success, addressed the students.
Former Penn State football player Adam Taliaferro drew one of the loudest ovations.
Taliaferro suffered a severe spinal cord injury Sept. 23, 2000, at Ohio State, and doctors told him he had a 3 percent chance of walking again.
Taliaferro made a miraculous recovery and walked onto the field for the September 2001 season opener at Beaver Stadium.
No longer able to play football, Taliaferro went to law school, graduated and became a lawyer.
"If I can do what I've done, you guys can do the same thing. You can go on and do anything you want in life," Taliaferro said. "Our lives are like a highway, and we will have some detours from time to time. My injury was my detour. I am here to tell you to enjoy the highway of life and believe in yourself and that the sky is the limit."
Despite being told he was too small to play football, Bo Eason pursued his childhood dream of becoming the best safety in the "whole wide world."
Eason overcame great odds to become the first safety selected in the 1984 NFL draft.
He told the students to draw up a plan for life.
"Go home and pull out a crayon and paper and draw up your plan," Eason said. "Draw up your plan, whatever you want to be, follow the plan even when people tell you you can't do it."
Both P.J. Maierhofer and Quinton Aaron said they had a plan at an early age.
Maierhofer, an Altoona Area High School graduate, said that while in elementary school she told her mother that some day she would be the Blue Sapphire, or featured twirler, for the Penn State Blue Band.
Maierhofer, who will graduate from Penn State this weekend, achieved her goal and served as Blue Sapphire for five years - and was also named 2009 Miss Majorette of America.
"When I was in fourth grade, I was young with a goal and a dream, and here I am today," Maierhofer said. "Believe in your dreams, close your eyes and think about something you would like to do. If you can envision it, it can be possible. Keep dreaming big."
Aaron, who recently starred in the movie "The Blind Side" with Sandra Bullock, said he knew at a young age he wanted to be a singer or actor.
"If there is something you want to do, tell yourself you are going to do it, work hard and achieve that goal," Aaron said. "I encourage you to follow your dream, it starts when you are young."
