Wednesday, September 21, 2022 - 1:00 PM - 1:55 PM
Jake Olson is an eight-time cancer survivor, a Division 1 college football long snapper, the author of two books, two-time ABC’s World News Tonight Person of the Week, and founder of Out of Sight Faith Foundation, entrepreneur and President of Engage online talent booking, and he’s only 25 years old.
He’s also blind.
At 8 months of age, Olson was diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer, retinoblastoma, which claimed his left eye. After battling eye cancer for 12 years, he lost his right eye. But what Jake didn’t lose was his faith.
Using his gumption and determination, plus an unwavering faith in God, Jake not only got on with life, he thrived. A strong athlete, he learned to long snap and became the starting long snapper for his high school’s football team both junior and senior years.
After graduation, Jake was accepted to University of Southern California where he not only earned his Bachelor’s in Business Administration, he was offered a walk-on spot as long snapper for the USC football team, making him the first completely blind Division 1 college football player. Shortly thereafter, Olson was named the Pac-12 special teams’ player of the week, and earned a spot as one of the top two most inspirational stories in college football’s 150-year history.
Olson’s athletic career did not end after college. He surfs and skis, has skydived and even driven a pace car at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. In 2019, he won the US Blind Gold National Championship and is aiming to be the first completely blind player in the PGA.
Other awards include the Dick Vitale Award, Distinguished Athletic Award for Orange County, Lifelock Courage Award, USC Davis-Teschke Most Inspirational Award, and ESPN Sports Emmy among many others.
Jake’s Out of Sight Faith Foundation has raised over $100,000 to support visually impaired children and cancer research. His books, “My life with Cancer Holding Jesus’ Hand” and “Open Your Eyes” have inspired readers from all walks of life to turn their adversities into achievements.
Olson’s story has been featured on ESPN, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, Fox Sports, Hallmark, TBN, The Golf Channel, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated and The Washington Post, and now will be shared with you at Loyalty Expo 2022.
Jake will give an uplifting presentation about using adversities for your gain. You will leave feeling inspired and unstoppable with tips to harness negative feelings and use them to empower you to see the positive in the most negative of situations. Overall, this will be an interactive 45-minute session with a Q&A open to all Loyalty Expo attendees.
More about Jake Olson: USC's long snapper, who is blind, talks about his inspirational journey to the field | ESPN