Olympian Dawn Harper will appear at Festus High School in an all school assembly on Friday, October 3. This will be her first appearance since winning the gold medal in the 100 meter hurdles in Beijing. She will talk to the student body and the commity about giving back to the community and pursuing your dreams.

FHS Principal Karen Biehle says Harper will talk about her journey to the Olympics, about how much her high school education meant to her, and how important her community was to her. "We want to show our appreciation for how she represented the United States," Biehle said. "It's an honor to have her speak to our students."

Harper graduated from East St. Louis High School and UCLA before winning the gold medal in the hurdles. Her high school coach, Nino Fennoy, has coached against Vince Bingham numerous times. Bingham is the Tigers' head coach for the boys team and the head coach for the Jefferson County Jets summer track team.

Bingham said he hopes the students will want to "chase their dreams" after listening to Harper, who was a surprise when she won the gold.

"She wasn't favored and now she's the Olympic champion," Bingham said. "I think it shows that if the community supports you, you can have a dream like Dawn Harper had a dream."