Most junior high students would probably prefer not to revisit bad experiences they had during their school days.

But that wouldn't apply to Mike Schlappi, a Lakeridge Junior High School alumnus who made his entry into the school's auditorium by bouncing down its steps Monday morning in his wheelchair while performing a wheelie to the smiles and cheers of students. He wanted to share his story.

"I love coming back here," he said.

Thirty-one years ago, Schlappi, a popular student and the Lakeridge's student body president, had something happen to him that forever changed his life. He was over at a friend's house when the friend showed him a firearm that belonged to his father.

"He thought he took all the bullets out of the gun," Schlappi told students at two assemblies as a special guest during the school's Red Ribbon Week.

A report boomed and the next thing he knew a bullet had struck him in the chest. Paralyzed from the waist down, the 14-year-old faced a life other than the one he had imagined.

One morning after the accident, his mother was making pancakes in the kitchen and weeping as he entered the room. But then her demeanor changed and she said something that changed the rest of his life.

"You may not be able to stand up, but that doesn't mean you can't stand out," she said.

Schlappi adopted the words as his life motto and hasn't looked back. He has strived to do things others and even he may have believed weren't possible.

"You think I can still smile? You think I still love pizza? You think I believe that BYU has an awesome football team?" he asked the students.

Shortly after the accident he attended a high school dance, and feeling awkward, remained along a wall, popping wheelies in his wheel chair, and "feeling sorry for myself." Before he knew it a girl named Wendy asked him to dance. They moved around the floor to an upbeat song, and he couldn't wait for the song to end. Then she surprised him by asking him for one more dance; this time, a slow song. Again he felt uncomfortable until he took a bold move -- he had Wendy sit sideways across his lap in the wheelchair as they glided slowly around the gym floor.

"I quickly became the envy of every one of my friends," Schlappi said, adding that his friends asked if they could borrow his spare wheelchairs at the dances.

A gifted athlete, he also began competing in wheelchair marathons and took up basketball. At age 16, Schlappi set a goal to become a member of the U.S. Paralympic men's basketball team. Beginning in 1988 he played on the team for two decades and took home two gold and two bronze medals for his country.

Judy Christensen, a school PTA member in charge of Red Ribbon Week, told students that Schlappi eventually married the woman he met while trick-or-treating one Halloween with some college buddies. She didn't have any candy so Mike asked if she had any Cap'n Crunch, his favorite cereal. She said she did; it was her favorite cereal, too.

After graduating from BYU, Mike Schlappi earned an MBA from Arizona State University and worked in the health care industry. He started his own business as a motivational speaker, sharing his story across the country with corporate businesses and schools. He has authored a book, a DVD and has his own Web site (www.mikeschlappi.com), said his uncle Roger Schlappi, a longtime teacher at Lakeridge.

Along with the medals and photos from his life, Schlappi showed students the actual bullet doctors removed from his body that he wears around his neck on a chain to remind himself daily of how he's overcome his own limitations. He challenged Lakeridge students to find the "bullet" in their lives and to commit to making positive changes in their lives that will help them accomplish their dreams. When they avoid things like drugs, alcohol, tobacco and violence, they're able to achieve their aspirations.

"Do your best," he said. "Don't get depressed."

Stephen Tullis, a ninth grader at Lakeridge, liked that Schlappi was as fun and entertaining to listen to as he was inspirational.

Another ninth grader, Kurt Winkler, said it's important to stay away from drugs and stay in school.

"It was awesome the things he did, how he could just keep going like that," he said.

Ninth grader Karli Thornley liked that Schlappi's visit with students was up close and personal, making it that much more powerful. She said Red Ribbon Week is a educational opportunity for Lakeridge students to avoid things like drugs and violence.

"It think it's important that kids my age learn about [drugs] and what they do," she said.