Tullahoma High School and both East and West Middle School had a guest motivational speaker on hand recently, as Donovan Tolbert spoke to students at each campus.

Tolbert is a former NCAA Division I student-athlete who ranked in the top 1 percent nationally in the triple jump. While he had success at the collegiate level, he was constantly overlooked and ignored during his early school years. At his lowest point, Tolbert decided to seek support from his parents, coaches, teachers, and mentors. Through personal interactions with positive influences, he developed successful strategies that began to strengthen his mindset and prepared him to step up his commitment and work toward the goals he set for the triple jump.

As he continued to implement these strategies, he began to excel. During his collegiate career, Tolbert won two NCAA gold medals, set a Kent State school record in the triple jump, and was ranked among the top 9 national competitors by ESPN. Today, Tolbert devotes himself to telling his story in hopes of inspiring current students, student-athletes, coaches, administrators and support staff.

Tolbert was brought to Tullahoma by the TCS Sources of Strength (SOS) program, and the visit was funded by the Community Foundation Grant and the Lillian Ashley Field of Interest fund. During the 2024-25 school year, East and West Middle School students joined together to form SOS, a group within their schools that helps point fellow students to the various sources of strength available to everyone. The primary goals of this group are to prevent mental health stressors and improve the overall school climate. After starting at the middle school levels, TCS has expanded SOS to Tullahoma High School as well.