On Thursday, Oct. 9th, math instructor and Director of Community Service Kelly Lazar took a van of students to the University of Delaware to hear speaker Chris Nikic lecture at the Bob Carpenter Center. Nikic’s talk, presented by Special Olympics Delaware and the 1% Better Foundation, was steeped in the underlying principles of success Nikic tapped into to become the first (and only) person in the world with Down syndrome to complete an Ironman, run all six global marathon majors, win two ESPYs, and become a global ambassador for Special Olympics and Ironman. Post-competition, Nikic has become a motivational speaker who advocates for Down syndrome awareness and accessibility within elite sports.

Students Sophie Hansen ’26, Bixby Hanrahan ’26, Janie Kim ’26, Kayley Rivera ’26 and Will Tower ’26 attended the lecture. Each is heavily engaged in community service at SAS. Hansen and Tower serve as two of the co-heads of the community service program; Kim and Rivera help organize and run the Special Olympics Fall Sports Festival, which takes place each year at St. Andrew’s; and Hanrahan is an Adaptive Aquatics leader. “I think sometimes to do true service we really need to leave campus,” says Lazar. “We as a community work so closely with Special Olympics, and it was amazing to take students to see the true product of their annual energy and commitment.”

When attendees entered The Bob Carpenter Center, each was provided a red Special Olympics “rally towel,” a sight familiar to St. Andrew’s students because of the school’s longtime relationship with the nonprofit. They were encouraged to wave the towels in support of Nikic and the other adaptive athletes in attendance. Hansen and Tower were excited to greet one such athlete, a local adaptive swimmer who the duo worked with last spring.

Nikic spoke about his nonprofit charity, 1% Better, which is designed to support athletes with Down syndrome. The foundation’s name was inspired by Nikic’s philosophy that every athlete can aim to be one percent better every day. Nikic explained that due to Down syndrome, it’s harder for him to gain and maintain muscle mass. It’s what makes endurance sports so difficult, he said, adding further challenge to completing an Ironman race. Nikic called out the athletes in the crowd, citing that they had “no excuse” not to get one percent better every day, an idea that resonated with the St. Andrew’s seniors and Lazar. “His mentality and philosophy really put a lot of things in perspective for me personally,” Lazar says. “I think sometimes students become stuck in a mindset of learning that if they are not seeing immediate growth in their mastery, they are not growing. But even a small bit of progress, just one percent, will pay off.”

Students left the event inspired and thrilled to engage again with Special Olympics next month, on Saturday, Nov. 1, when the Fall Sports Festival takes place on campus. Fall Sports Festival is a beloved weekend on campus that brings the whole student body together. Saints participate as organizers and volunteers, doing work like referring soccer games, running bocce matches, and helping present awards and accolades throughout the day.