Olympic gold medalist, Shaun White, was honored by Mayor Bud Lewis and the Carlsbad City Council in a small ceremony to welcome the local hero home and congratulate him on his athletic achievements.

A crowd of about 50 people arrived at Carlsbad City Hall on May 26 to receive autographs and pose for pictures with 19 year-old White. The Carlsbad snowboarder achieved fame while competing in this year's Winter Olympics in the Italian Alps. His mind-blowing performance in the snowboard halfpipe event landed him a gold medal.

During the ceremony White touched on his personal life saying there was a point in his life when he was "really struggling with school." He has credited his move to Carlsbad as a pivotal step that enabled him to finish his high school degree and continue his snowboarding career. White recognized his teacher Katy Heritage, from the Carlsbad Seaside Academy, as a wonderful mentor. The Academy is a school within the Carlsbad Unified School District that offers an Independent Study program open to kids K-12 who attend for a variety of reasons. Heritage was on hand to congratulate him along with several Academy students.

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