Aimee Mullins, model, actress and advocate Announced as Via All-Star Banquet Speaker
March 3, 2009

BETHLEHEM, PA – Aimee Mullins, born in Allentown, first received worldwide media attention as an athlete.  Born without fibulae in both legs, Mullins’ medical prognosis was bleak; she would never walk and indeed would spend the rest of her life using a wheelchair.  In an attempt for an outside chance at independent mobility, doctors amputated both her legs below the knee on her first birthday.  The decision paid off.  By age two, she had learned to walk on prosthetic legs, and spent her childhood doing the usual athletic activities like swimming, biking, softball, soccer, and skiing, alongside ‘able-bodied’ kids.    

Mullins, a Parkland High School graduate, is the keynote speaker for the 34th Annual Via All-Star Basketball Classic at 6pm on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at Freedom High School.  Mullins will share her inspiring story and perspective of not allowing any obstacle or outside perception to stand in your way of making your dreams a reality. 

After graduating from Parkland with honors, Mullins was one of three students in the US chosen for a full academic scholarship from the Department of Defense, and at age 17 became the youngest person to hold a top-secret security clearance at the Pentagon.  She worked there as an intelligence analyst during her summer breaks.

It was at this time that she rediscovered her love of competitive sports.  While a dean’s list student at the prestigious School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, she set her sights on making the US Team for the 1996 Atlanta Games.  She enlisted the expertise of Frank Gagliano, one of the country’s most respected track coaches.

Through this partnership, she became the first woman with a ‘disability’ to compete in the NCAA, doing so on Georgetown’s nationally-ranked Division I track team.  Outfitted with woven carbon-fiber prostheses that were modeled after the hind legs of a cheetah, she went on to set World Records in the 100 meter, the 200 meter, and the long jump, sparking a frenzy over the radical design of her prototype sprinting legs.

After a spread in Life magazine showcased her in the starting blocks at Atlanta, the world took notice.  Mullins soon landed a 10-page feature in the inaugural issue of Sports Illustrated for Women.  In 1999, Mullins made her runway debut in London at the invitation of one of the world’s most celebrated fashion designers, Alexander McQueen.  Walking alongside the supermodels of the world, Mullins’ groundbreaking, triumphant turn captured the attention of the fashion media.  Conquering the fashion magazine standards of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and Elle, she was also named as one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People in the World.”

An influential voice in today’s changing youth culture, she has been named as one of Esquire’s “Women We Love,” one of Jane magazine’s “10 Gutsiest Women,” one of Sports Illustrated’s “Coolest Girls in Sport,” and was celebrated as the “Hottest Muse” in Rolling Stone’s annual Hot List.

At such a young age, Mullins’ impact on modern society is undeniable.  She has been immortalized in exhibits at institutions such as the Smithsonian, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the NCAA Hall of Fame, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate Modern, the Track and Field Hall of Fame, and the Women’s Museum, where she is honored for her contribution to sport among the “Greatest American Women of the 20th Century.”

The Via All-Star Basketball Classic raises funds for Via’s services for people with disabilities so they can connect and live in their communities.  Via of the Lehigh Valley is a non-profit human service agency that provides services for children and adults with disabilities like autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome.  Serving the community since 1954, Via’s staff help individuals and families from birth through retirement focusing in Children’s Services, Community Connections and Employment.

Via works with children up to age three in their homes and daycares to address disabilities and delays.  Via finds jobs in the community for adults and provides coaching and training for successful employment.  And Via helps people, from teens to those at retirement age, connect and live in their community by volunteering, participating in leisure activities, and finding or purchasing affordable, accessible housing.  Via fosters and advocates the concept of inclusion and choice within schools, neighborhoods and communities, personal relationships, and employment.  Via believes that personal satisfaction and dignity are achieved through individual success and independence and is committed to helping people live full and productive lives.  Visit www.ViaNet.org to learn more about Via’s services.

For more information, contact:
Lisa Walkiewicz, Communications Director
L.Walkiewicz@vianet.org | 484-893-5390