His story is an Olympic legend and has been shared on the silver screen, but Billy Mills, the "Running Brave," had to overcome so much before even stepping on the track.

Mills shared his story with students from UNO and Omaha South Friday morning as part of the Service Learning Academy. Students and Mills took time out from the classroom to run around the track at the HPER Building.

Mills talked about diversity and how the death of his mother at a young age impacted his life. "I was always trying to win a gold medal, but I didn't win the gold medal until I put the priority to heal a broken soul. It all starts with my mom."

Mills won the gold in the 10k meters in Tokyo at the 1964 Summer Games.

The Service Learning Academy encourages increased student involvement in their community and development of a collaborative academic outcome with community identified needs.