Zebulon — “Reach for the stars, regardless of the challenges. You may have to do it in a different manner, but you can do it,” Vernida Gillette-Simms told her son, Elexis.

Elexis Gillette, 23, of Raleigh, has had quite a career as an athlete, as many have in their youth.

There’s a catch to Gillette’s accomplishments, however. He’s been visually impaired since second grade, but has never let that hold him back. In fact, it has pushed him to do more.

His bout with recurrent retinal attachment left him virtually blind, but he does have light perception.

“Going from him seeing to not seeing — one extreme to the other — was painful,” Gillette-Simms said of her son. Glaucoma has left her legally blind.

The step-son of Ricky Simms, who works for the Eastern Regional Center in Zebulon, and son of Gillette-Simms, Gillette attended Athens Drive High School, in Raleigh, where he set the bar high in every sport he attempted.

Gillette was dubbed rookie wrestler of the year during his freshman year at Athens Drive. He earned second place in a tournament, and continued to wrestle his sophomore year.

As a junior, he attended a youth camp for visually challenged individuals where he won several first place medals. It was then that it struck him — he wanted go from one Athens to another to compete in the 2004 Paralympic games in Greece.

So he took to the drawing board. Gillette participated in the long jump throughout his junior and senior years at Athens Drive, and his efforts resulted in his meeting the criteria and qualifying for Greece.

“I was on the bubble,” Gillette said. “But I got picked, and it was just overwhelming. I was 19 at that point, so it was just a good feeling.”

That same year, he was one of The News and Observer’s Athletes of the Year, as well as co-captain of the Athens Drive track team. He won an academic honors award, the coaches award, the Winners Find a Way award and even made his way to the spotlight to accept the first-place trophy in the school’s “Grad Man” male beauty contest. He also won the Wake County Public School System’s “Spotlight on Students” award.

Gillette moved on from Athens to attend East Carolina University in the fall of 2003. He would eventually graduate from ECU with a bachelor’s degree in recreation and leisure sports. He made both the Dean’s and the Chancellor’s list.

But it was at ECU that Gillette met a friend that would become a trainer for the ’04 Paralympics.

He trained year-round and in September the games were held. Gillette returned home with a silver medal for his long jump of 20 feet, 5.5 inches.

The ride didn’t end there. This accomplishment only drove his desire to win a gold medal.

Gillette was playing for a beep-ball team in Durham, a game much like baseball, consisting of two bases that buzz and a ball that beeps. The pitcher and the catcher are the only sighted players on the field.

After his skills were seen on the field, Gillette was recruited to play for the West Coast Dawgs. During his tenure, the team managed to make it to the World Series and record a second place finish.

Gillette ended up in California again, where he has been since January. This time he is training for the 2008 Paralympics, in Beijing, China.

His hopes for his second Paralympic appearance? To win gold, of course, but he will be competing in more than just the long jump and the 4x1 relay as he did in 2004.

In addition, he will try his hand at the triple jump, the 100-meter race, the 200-meter race, the 400-meter race and the 4x400, competing against four other athletes.

“My first time in the Paralympics I wanted to do my best, but know wherever I ended up I would check my performance and work hard to improve,” Gillette said. “Plus, the guy who beat me in 2004 is from China, so I want to take him out on him home court.”

Gillette now trains five days each week, and according to his mother it could lead to greater achievements.

“This is the first time he’s had intense training,” Gillette-Simms said. “If he won the first medal without the serious training, just imagine what he can do with this type of training.”

While undergoing Paralympic training in California, Gillette is teaching himself how to play the keyboard. He also works as a waiter in a restaurant called Dining in the Dark.

When he returns from China, Gillette said he’d like to go back to school for a master’s degree, but for now his attention will remain on the field.

In addition to his Paralympic silver, his list of athletic accomplishments include fifth place in the IBSA World Games in 2003, silver medal in the long jump in the IPC Athletics World Championships in Assen, The Netherlands in 2006, gold medal in the long jump in the U.S. National Track and Field Championships in Marietta, Georgia in 2007 and bronze medal in the long jump in the 2007 Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“It’s weird having this honor,” Gillette said. “You just have to keep everything in perspective. You can’t get big headed and you can’t count anyone out.”

Now paying out of his own pocket for training, Gillette is currently looking for someone to sponsor his future efforts.