TROY, N.Y. - Rensselaer's student-athletes took advantage of an opportunity to listen to Jim Johnson in an hour-long presentation as part of the CHAMPS/Life Skills Program. Johnson is a high school basketball coach in the Rochester, N.Y., area who played a major role in one of the most inspiring stories of recent times.

The story of Jason McElwain, a high-functioning autistic individual, became well known in 2006 when he played four minutes during a high school basketball game and scored 20 points. Johnson's team manager at Greece Athena High School, McElwain was provided an opportunity to play on Senior Night and took full advantage as he thrilled his teammates, classmates and many, many others.

Johnson was on the Rensselaer campus to talk about his relationship with McElwain, the story of how that special moment all came about and the overwhelming reaction to such a heart-warming story.

The veteran coach also provided RPI's student-athletes with his six essential keys to helping them make their dreams come true. Among them are to find their passion, develop a mission, persevere and be a team player. "I want to help inspire you to think bigger and reach higher to make your dreams come true," he told the audience of nearly 500.

Prior to the presentation, Jim Knowlton, director of athletics, praised the student-athletes for their efforts in competition, in the community and in the classroom. Of Rensselaer's 23 athletic teams, 21 had a Fall 2011 term grade point average of 3.10 or better and no team had a GPA lower than 2.88.