Evan Austin's Programs
The Wait of Gold: Sacrifice, Failure, and Resilience in the Lifelong Pursuit of Excellence
The Wait of Gold is a powerful and inspiring keynote that uses Evan’s Paralympic journey to explore resilience, purpose, and life after achieving a dream. He challenges audiences to see failure as fuel, understand how goals evolve, and find meaning in the process rather than the outcome. This program motivates students to redefine success, embrace change, and keep moving forward with determination and perspective.
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In 28.98 seconds at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, Evan realized a dream. He finished his event before everyone else in the world and was from that day forward a gold medalist. He won his event, but Evan’s race was far from over.
Now, on the back side of competing again for Team USA at the Paris Paralympic Games in 2024, Evan delivers his signature keynote, The Wait of Gold, differently. He shares with audiences that it is not only about the adversity one must withstand to achieve a dream but also the resilience needed to pick oneself up after feeling that there is nothing left to accomplish.
The Wait of Gold is Evan’s story about how living with his disability continues to redefine what is normal and shapes how he navigates the challenges of dealing with failure and triumph.
Audience members will…
Failure can be turned into fuel for success.
Goals don’t just change but evolve as we experience new things and grow as individuals in our failures and our successes.
Oftentimes in life, the process of pursuing and achieving a goal is more of a prize than accomplishing the goal itself.
Ideal Audiences
- Greek Organizations
- Student Athletes
- Leadership Development
- First-Year Experience
- New Member Orientation
Stay In Your Lane!: Exploring the Best (and Worst) Advice I’ve Ever Received
Stay in Your Lane is a thought-provoking keynote that redefines a common phrase by exploring how focus, discipline, and leadership intersect to create meaningful impact. Drawing from his experience as a person with a physical disability and a decorated Team USA captain, Evan challenges audiences to find the balance between personal growth and service to others. This inspiring session encourages students to pursue excellence with purpose and lead with integrity.
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“Stay in your lane!”
Few phrases can be interpreted in completely opposite ways; it is either entirely deflating or empowering. It can deflate an individual because it can put limits and ceilings on them as they try to innovate and introduce new perspectives and ideas. It can be empowering to someone who is tirelessly working towards achieving a worthy pursuit and needs reminding that to accomplish such goals requires sacrifice and limiting distractions.
So, is “stay in your lane” good advice or bad?
In this intriguing keynote, Evan shares with his audiences the necessary balance needed to reach an accredited level of expertise in something and the process of strengthening our own leadership to make sure we are always trying to do what is right and not what is easy.
Evan leads audience members through different parts of his own journey as an individual with a physical disability and a multiple-time medal-winning Captain of Team USA. In doing so, he illustrates that accomplishing one’s goals and impacting others with leadership causes there to be a crossing point of staying in our lanes. At that intersection is where we can hope to become the best versions of ourselves and have the largest impact on others. Becoming an expert in anything takes time and rigorous discipline but it is not impossible.
As our dedication and drive towards accomplishing a goal so does our impact crater. The greater one works on themselves; the greater one can be for others.
We just have to have the courage to dive in.
Audience members will…
Explore the necessary elements for achieving mastery
Consider how balance in core areas of life is essential
Determine how leadership influences the potential for personal and organizational potential
Ideal Audiences
- Leadership Development
- First Year Experience
- Distinguished Speaker Events
- Fraternity and Sorority Life
- Athletics
Meet Evan Austin
Evan connects with audiences by discussing the struggles he faced growing up with a physical impairment and the resilience he had to have to become a Paralympic Gold medalist. His keynote is constructed to show audiences that there are many roadblocks and deterrents on one’s path to success. Evan leads listeners on an emotional roller coaster as he illustrates, through his own personal experiences, some of the toughest failures and greatest successes a human can go through in a lifetime.
Whether he is speaking to campus organizations, student-athletes or a ballroom full of people who just want to hear an inspiring story, Evan delivers an experience that leaves audience members filled with hope, a new perspective on not judging a book by its cover, and renewed belief in the ideal that hard work can make up for many things. Through his story-telling, Evan hopes audiences leave his program understanding that failure can be turned into fuel, that goals don’t just change but also evolve, and that in the end the process of pursuing a lifelong goal is in fact the greatest prize.
Evan is a 3-time Paralympic Swimmer, Team USA Captain, attended Indiana State University for his Bachelor’s degree in Recreation and Sport Management, and is a proud member of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity. The now Gold and Bronze medalist is on the coaching staff of the Purdue University Swimming and Diving team as a Volunteer Assistant.
Evan Austin's Impact
