Herschel Walker visits McConnell

by Airman 1st Class Colby L. Hardin
22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

5/29/2014 - MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. -- The 22nd Air Refueling Wing received a visit from Herschel Walker, retired NFL player and CEO of Renaissance Man Food Services, May 22.

His visit was part of the wing's sports day, an opportunity to participate in a number of sports and team building activities throughout the day with their unit or individually.

Since the theme of the sports day was resiliency, Walker spoke about how he had to stay resilient while facing challenges in life.

"They should know that, everybody goes through some things, you should never think that you are in any situation by yourself," said Walker. "I know from experience that there is a brighter day out there, but you have to go earn it."

It wasn't always easy for Walker growing up as a kid. Being the middle child in a family with seven children, he always had motivation to keep going even when he didn't think he could.

"Growing up, I had a mom and dad who worked all the time, and they were our foundation," said Walker. "My brothers and sisters believed in me, even when I didn't believe in myself.

They were always the ones that lifted me up and that matters a great deal because sometimes you don't believe in yourself, and you won't go anywhere with that mindset," he added. If you look down, you're going to go down. And they're the ones who kept me looking up. I know how to deal with people today, because I had a big family."

Even to this day, Walker still faces some challenges with his own family.

"Being a dad is very tough now, because you have social media," said Walker. "Some people think that social media can raise a child, but I won't let it happen to my family."

Walker's speech to Team McConnell hit on situations that personally went through. He offered advice on how to use the techniques that he used to face his challenges, and how Airmen can apply them to their own.

"There's never a reason to think that you can't make it," said Walker. "There's no shame to ask for help in anything. You can always get help and if you fail, you just have to get up and keep working at it."