POCATELLO — When Stormee Kipp set the goal to become an NCAA Division I athlete, he knew that self-discipline would be the number one factor in helping him reach that goal.

Throughout high school he didn’t smoke. He didn’t do drugs. He committed to a strict training schedule and when friends went out on Saturday nights, he was pouring in the time and effort to prepare himself for try-outs for the University of Montana’s track and field team.

Now Kipp, 23, has not just become an NCAA Division I athlete but he’s also a Big Sky All-Conference Academic who has dipped his toes into acting. He’s won Best Actor at the American Indian Film Festival for his role in the indie film “Sooyii” and played a role in the Emmy-nominated, popular Hulu film “Prey.” He has also visited the White House, flown in a plane with an Olympian, visited half a dozen countries and much more.

Kipp recently addressed hundreds of high school students at the Hispanic Youth Leadership Summit held Wednesday at Idaho State University as the event’s keynote speaker, where he shared the importance of self-motivation, having a healthy mind and body and making opportunities for oneself.

Part Shoshone-Bannock, part Blackfeet and a quarter Hispanic, he explained to the youth that part of making opportunities for yourself is having an upstanding character that people can rely on.

Kipp’s athleticism and willingness to learn made him an appealing candidate during auditions for the film “Sooyii”, which was filmed on the Blackfeet Reservation and shot entirely in the Blackfeet language. Kipp explained that he was introduced to the director thanks to a cousin who works in the film industry, and said that his cousin told him why he was such a good fit for the role he was cast in.

Paraphrasing his cousin, Kipp said, “You are separated from everyone else who auditioned because the role is going to be very physically demanding, and you’re athletic enough to do it. It’s going to be in another language and because you’re a student, he knows you will study and try and perform to get the Blackfeet language down.”

Kipp added, “That’s why I got the role. He knew me from prior years and what I was willing to do to be successful.”

Kipp further stressed to the youth how achieving your goals has to start with the efforts of today, and that everything you do now will either help or hinder you in the future.

“The best time to go in on your goals and dreams is today, and to think of yourself ten years down the road,” he said. “Because you’re at that critical age now in life where you can either go down one route and think ten years later ‘man, I should have done that’, or think ‘oh yeah, I’m doing that now.”

Kipp followed up his speech with a Q & A session, where many of the students asked him about his many experiences and life advice.

“Just be mindful of who you hang out with” was his answer to one of the questions. “Because it can either go really bad or really good. Be mindful especially wherever you go in life.”

In addition to having Kipp as a keynote speaker, the summit also featured interactive activities, leadership workshops, performances with Aztec dancers and drummers, scholarships and internship awards and more for all participating students.

It was hosted by ISU, the College of Eastern Idaho and the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs.