LUDLOW, VT. – The first time I met Kevin Pearce he was flying high. It was the run-up to the Vancouver Olympics and this young kid from Vermont was poised to take the podium on snowboarding's half pipe for the U.S. Olympic team.

He was a good looking, quiet young man who seemed to have his head screwed on straight. One of the most memorable things he told me was that his strong family bonds helped him keep his feet on the ground in spite of all the publicity and promotion that comes with being a world-class athlete.

Then things went terribly wrong.

During a training run on Dec. 31, 2009 in Park City, Utah Kevin missed a new maneuver called the “Double Cork” – he slammed his head into the side of the icy course and was left in critical condition. The impact was so severe he even cracked his helmet.

Suffering from traumatic brain injury, doctors placed Kevin in a medically induced coma so his brain could heal. After about a month in critical care, he was moved to Craig Hospital in Denver, a world renowned rehabilitation center that specializes in treating traumatic brain injuries. He suffered severe memory loss, impaired vision and had to learn to walk again.
 
Today Kevin, 24 years old, says he doesn't remember anything about the accident.

"From what I hear, I never will remember what happened that day; and that's alright with me," he said during a recent interview back home in Vermont. “I don't think my brain lets me remember it because it doesn't want to remember it.”

But Kevin has always been a determined young man. From day one, he focused all his resources on recovery. And his family was there by his side every step of the way. 

"What he's done in the last two years, I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't be inspired by it,” said his father, Simon Pearce, a noted Irish-American glass artist and entrepreneur. "It's pretty easy to support somebody who is really positive and upbeat and determined.”

Kevin’s three older brothers, Andrew, Adam, and David, who has Down syndrome, have also been vital to his recovery.

David, who used to be his workout partner before the accident, has been by his side throughout his recovery. “It's been so special for me to be with David and get to learn from David. I feel like I used to teach him so much and after this injury he's been there and teaching me so much,” Kevin said.

Adam – who is also a snowboarder – even quit his job after Kevin’s accident, not only to help with his rehabilitation in Denver, but to make sure it was “fun and enjoyable.”  

Kevin’s mom, Pia Pearce, said the support of his brothers is a testament to the strength of family.

“They really rallied I think to support Kevin in an amazing way, but I think Kevin would do it for his brothers, too,” said Pia. “That's exactly what feels important to us as parents.”

For Kevin, it’s “indescribable” how important his family has been in helping him recover. 

“They've kind of been there behind me for this entire time. No one's ever kind of left me on my own,” he said. 

The Pearces invited NBC to meet up with Kevin two years after his accident, for a reunion of sorts at Okemo Mountain in Vermont earlier this week. Kevin was going to strap on his board and head down the slopes alongside the rest of his family.

(However, this wasn’t his first time back on the slopes since the accident; that happened to the cheers of friends and fans in Breckenridge, Colo. just last month on Dec. 13).

Needless to say, he ripped it.  (See the video above).

Did he ever worry that he would never board again?

"No," he said. “I knew the whole time I was in the hospital. That was the main focus; to get back up here and riding again."

He knows the dangers of snowboarding and acknowledges that he will probably never compete on the Olympic level again.  “Snowboarding is at this level, it's kind of gone to a crazy place, and I don't think I can get back to it in a safe enough way to make it worth it… It's just not really a possibility or an option to hit my head again.”

For the meantime, he is just happy to be on the road to recovery.

“After seeing what kind of condition… I could be in after such a traumatic injury, to be here doing so well and just having such a good time and loving life so much,” he said. “I feel so lucky.”

Related links:
PhotoBlog: Snowboarder Kevin Pearce hits the slopes two years after devastating accident
Olympic dreams lost, but Pearce stays strong

When classes begin in Joplin, Mo., on Wednesday, just 87 days after a tornado ripped through the city, about 900 students will take their seats in an unusual learning environment — a shopping mall.

"But this will be no ordinary mall," promises Jim Dunn, a spokesman for Joplin School District.

Joplin officials say they hope the learning center, created for 11^th- and 12^th-graders inside a vacant 90,000-square-foot department store using donations and federal relief funds, will establish Joplin as a hub of innovation, not as a district crushed by disaster. 

Click here to see a slideshow of Joplin: Before and after cleanup

There are no lockers or books at the high school, which students have dubbed "The Mall" though it is in a separate building from the stores.

"The design is what we call a flexible floor plan, with areas that are wide open for large group instruction and smaller settings that can accommodate a classroom and study areas," Dunn said. "It's a high-tech environment with large screens and computers everywhere. And Joplin's mascot, the eagle, will be prominent." 

Mike Stone / Reuters

A view of the destruction at Joplin High School after the killer tornado struck the town on May 23.

The May 22 tornado that swept through Joplin killed 160 people, including seven students and one teacher, and destroyed about 30 percent the homes and businesses in the a city of about 50,000 residents. The deadliest tornado in the United States in more than 60 years also devoured 10 schools, including the only public high school, Joplin High. In all, the district estimated the damage at about $150 million, more than $50 million of that being needed to rebuild Joplin High School, Dunn said.

The campaign is off to a strong start, with donors and volunteers from around the world pitching in:

• The oil-rich United Arab Emirates vowed up to $1 million to make sure each Joplin student had a laptop this year. Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, the UAE donated $100 million to U.S. relief efforts.
• Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow donated her 1959 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL Roadster to raise money to benefit the Joplin Schools Recovery Fund. Estimate of the car's value was at $50,000 to $80,000.
• Nearly 30,000 volunteers, working 140,000 hours, have jump-started the rebuilding effort. Several Kansas towns supplied hundreds of desks and chairs; a Des Moines, Ill., church donated school supplies.
• One resident, Mark Kinsley, enlisted his buddies and launched Rebuildjoplin.org, an online site that provides users with a list of resources for those seeking help.

District officials estimated about 5,000 students out of 7,000 were displaced from their homes. The district expects about 90 percent of the children to return to school this year, Dunn said.

When they do, each student will receive a new backpack and school supplies on the first day of school.

Jim Seida / msnbc.com

"All we did in the old school was sit in the hallways, which would have been a bad thing because we'd all be gone," says senior Chloe Hadley, who stands in front of tornado shelters in the mall's parking lot.

Chloe Hadley, 17, said she is ready to start her senior year, despite the heartache and loss from that terrible night in May.

Hadley said the tornado struck on an evening when her friends and others from the 445-student graduating class were celebrating their commencement.

The tornado's 200-mph winds were so severe that it hurled a church steeple across the road and into the main entrance of the high school. One of her best friends, Will Norton, was killed as he was driving home, thrown from his Hummer H3 when it flipped several times.

"It's been devastating," said Hadley, who is senior class president. "Not only had we had to live with that, but I have had to drive through the ruins and despair every day. You can't get away from it. It is everywhere."

"It will be good to go back, because it will keep us busy and keep our thoughts off of what really happened here," said Hadley. "I'm looking forward to it, even if it is in the mall."

Related link:
Photoblog: Tornado 'helps' Joplin resident downsize home