UF athletes Cornelius Ingram and Brandon McArthur performed in front of a different crowd than usual on Tuesday morning.
Their audience included 300 students from eight different middle schools who came to the Reitz Union as part of the 20th annual March of Dimes Health Conference.
The conference, hosted by Chain Reaction Youth Leadership Council, was targeted toward at-risk students. It concentrated on developing healthy eating habits and making smart decisions about drugs and sex.
Since the theme of this year's conference was modeled after the Gatorade ad slogan "Is it in you?" and centered on sports, the student-athletes were chosen as the keynote speakers.
Ingram, a tight end on the football team, and McArthur, an infielder on the baseball team, discussed major obstacles they overcame during their collegiate careers.
Ingram started by telling the students about challenges he faced when leaving his small hometown.
"There were outside people telling me I would never make it," he said. "But I was determined."
Ingram motivated the students by stressing the importance of going to school.
He said he wanted to leave UF and enter the NFL draft, but he decided to stay in school and get his degree after he talked it over with his mother.
"I can't say that I've done everything in my life on my own," he said. "I used football and basketball, and it worked. Whatever it is you want to do, give it 110 percent and you'll be fine."
McArthur confessed he partied too much during his freshman year of college, which resulted in serious health complications.
One night while out at a club, he was sucker-punched and brought to Shands at UF, where he was taken into immediate brain surgery.
During a second surgery, 5 percent of his brain was taken out, and he was induced into a coma.
McArthur told the students to think about their parents when making choices.
"I almost lost my life without even knowing it," he said. "Respect your parents and yourselves."
