There wasn't a sound in the auditorium when Rohan Murphy parked his wheelchair and took the stage on the final day of Cultural Diversity Week.

"I spent a lot of time in the hospital. Finally, in third grade I started going to school," he told the audience. "I realized I was different and there were going to be a lot of things I couldn't do."

Murphy, a youth coordination speaker from Long Island, N.Y., was born with a severe birth defect leaving him without legs.

"Growing up without legs, people were always telling me 'Rohan, you can't do this, you can't do that.'"

That, however, was all he needed to hear to make him more determined to make something of his life.

When he went to high school, Murphy realized he was different.

"I was the only one in a wheelchair and I was the only African American," he said.

It was then he joined the wrestling team.

"I wore prosthetic legs because I was ashamed of myself. I was ashamed I did not have legs, " Murphy said.

What Murphy wanted most was acceptance and he got it when he wrestled for Penn State.

Murphy's talk capped off three days of activities designed to motivate students to think about how people are different.

"I think he really resonated with [the audience]," said ERACE secretary Nicole Generose. "He was funny, engaging and he could really relate to [the audience] with athletics.

"He inspired me a lot. He could have very easily have said, 'I can't do things,' but he made something of himself."

During the week, students had the opportunity to participate in a Zumba workout, watch the hit movie "The Help," attend a Smithsonian videoconference and make their own dream catchers guided by art teacher Kathy Kehs.

These were only a few of the activities offered.

On Monday and Tuesday, the foreign language classes prepared a number of culinary delights for students to sample during lunch.

Consumer science teacher Shay Wagner tackled Creole cooking in a workshop.

Junior Grace Shoen-inger attended the videoconference.

"We saw pictures of Native American tribes painted by various settlers," she said. "There was a microphone and we could converse about what we saw in the paintings."

Cultural Diversity Week was sponsored by ERACE, Everyone Respecting All Culture Everywhere, a group whose membership ranges from 15-20 people.

Adam George is president of the organization.

"Above everything else, Cultural Diversity Week is about celebrating the amazing variety of cultures that exist," he said.

Overseeing the three-day event was English teacher Jess Dynda.

"Knowing I was an ESL teacher, I was probably a decent candidate for overseeing the event," she explained. "The lessons that are particularly taught during Cultural Diversity Week are in many ways just as valuable as those taught in our regular classes."

George couldn't agree more.

"We may not realize it but if we move out of the area to other places we need to know people are different," George said. "It's really important because we've very rural."

George's connection to ERACE has deep roots.

"My sister Emily is one of the founders of the club and I wanted to continue it," he explained. "She wasn't sure the club would continue so I wrote an essay about what I would do as a president."

George said the events of the week were generally well received.

"Every year people respect it more and more," he said. "Now, we're bringing people in. If people are allowed to sign up, they're a lot more positive."

"We have such a small school and we have to give our students exposure to different kinds of people we don't usually see here," said Generose. "We're a no place for hate school.

"The anti-defamation league cites schools that promote diversity in their school. Last year, was the first year we were cited, so that was really exciting."