AURORA, Colo. — Regis Jesuit High School has been celebrating the 20th anniversary of the opening of its Girls Division and Thursday afternoon, they dedicated the pool in honor of Class of 2013 alumna and six-time Olympic medalist, Missy Franklin.
"This school gave me a sisterhood," Franklin expressed. "It gave me family and it gave me four years of an opportunity to learn the kind of woman that I wanted to be, not just in the water but even more importantly, out of the water."
After her junior year, Franklin would win four gold medals in the London Olympics, then head back to Regis for her senior season to win their third state championship.
"How I always felt here at Regis is I was recognized for me and for Missy, and not just Missy Franklin," the Olympian said.
During the ceremony, Franklin personally handed the Missy Franklin athlete-of-the-year award to senior Hana Belibi, who's headed to Harvard to play basketball.
"It was so cool," Belibi said. "I'm so honored and humbled to be able to have that experience. I didn't know it was happening, they called me out of class and yeah, I'm just so honored and humbled."
Franklin later addressed the entire student body in a Q&A done by Regis Jesuit students, where she expressed what's next for her, being a proud mother of her two-year-old daughter.
"To know that she'll have role models like Hana, and like all of you to look up to one day, it means everything to me," Franklin said.
An endowed scholarship has also been established in Missy's name with a gift from fellow alum John Sheridan ’76. Sheridan was chair of the Regis Jesuit Board of Trustees during Missy’s high school years and witnessed first-hand the positive impact she had on the school community.
The Missy Franklin ’13 Endowed Scholarship will be awarded annually to a young woman who is part of the one in three students granted need-based financial aid at Regis Jesuit.
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