A St. Paul native who has tossed, tucked, and tumbled into Olympic greatness, stopped at her former primary school on Thursday.
Gymnast, and gold medalist Suni Lee, joked that she was "a bad little kid" as a student at Battle Creek Elementary.
"It's great to be back," said Lee. "I feel like not a lot of people get this opportunity."
The 19-year-old, has partnered with Amazon. The company is donating $50,000 to the school, which recently switched to an E-STEAM curriculum.
Saint Paul Public Schools spokesperson, Ryan Stanzel, says with the donation, "teachers will be able to order things for their classroom, particularly in the science and math and area."
District staff, transformed the gym where Lee got her start, into learning stations, for the hundreds present.
Children like Cordell Brown, 8, colored, filled flower pots, and built castles with magnetic pieces. His mother, Kianna Vaughn, who also attended the elementary says she isn't surprised Lee chose to give back to the school.
"They have a lot of good teachers and a lot of good advocates," she said. "My son lost his dad last school year. The play therapy here at Battle Creek, has been a very big help. It's definitely a positive vibe here."
Lee later shared that she too, had great memories at Battle Creek.
"[My gym teacher] Mr. Richards, he always pushed me," she reflected. "He's making me climb rope even when I wasn't at practice, or make me do more pull ups than everybody else. He just always knew, and I would always tell him,' I'm gonna go win the gold medal.'"
Now the high achiever, hopes her visit propels kids into bright futures.
"Keep pursuing your dreams. Don't let anybody tell you what you can and can't do," said Lee. "You're the only person capable of what you can do."