When U.S. speed skater Joey Cheek announced he would donate his gold- and silver-medal winnings from the 2006 Torino Games to Right To Play, he had no idea his gesture would still draw attention a year later.

"I had enough faith in the feel-good Olympic atmosphere that I would raise maybe a few hundred-thousand dollars, and I figured I'd be in the press 24 hours, maybe 48," Cheek said. "So, I'm stunned that I'm still getting calls from people wanting to talk to me."

Cheek made the decision before the Games to follow the lead of former Norwegian speed skater Johann Olav Koss and support Right To Play, an athlete-driven organization that uses sport and play to help children develop in some of the world's most disadvantaged areas, if he happened to win an Olympic medal. He ended up winning two and was able to donate $40,000.

His donation and on-ice accomplishments resulted in a slew of accolades.

Cheek was pictured on a Wheaties box, listed amongst Time Magazine's 100 most influential people, named the Eric Heiden Skater of the Year, and most recently, he was named the USOC's Male Athlete of the Year.

But while Cheek said he appreciated all of these honors, they are dim in comparison to the recent trips the American has taken.

Cheek, who deferred admission to Princeton until fall of 2007, traveled to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Chad and flew on G4 jets around China and Egypt with Hollywood stars like George Clooney and Don Cheadle.

Ethiopia, Chad
On an eight-day trip to Ethiopia and Chad, the 26-year-old helped the Red Cross provide aid to refugees.

"When you travel there, even before you go, you have to get this whole slew of shots. You're getting shots for typhoid and yellow fever and getting pills to take for malaria and this whole regiment of inoculations," Cheek said. "I couldn't believe there was this much stuff that could kill me just for going there."

Once Cheek got to Ethiopia, the problems in Africa seemed even more frustrating as he learned that many children under the age of 5 die from drinking unclean drinking water and acute diarrhea.

"Because we've basically conquered those problems in our own society, in the U.S. and Europe and parts of Asia, you're just blown away, you're like, 'This is ridiculous, these kids are dying from stuff that we figured out hundreds of years ago,'" Cheek said.

In Chad, Cheek spent time with refugees from Darfur. Thousands of people -- mostly women and children, as most surviving men were fighting to save their land or crops -- populated the camp, depending on food, water and limited medical services provided through aid agencies for survival.

"It's just hard to see. … These people have been driven out of their homes and their villages, where they're not making anything -- they're sustenance farmers as it is -- and they're getting driven out of that, less than we would consider human."

After initially leaving Africa, Cheek was overwhelmed by the amount of help that people needed, but over time he changed his mindset.

"Coming home, you're just sitting in your seat and you're looking out from the plane and you're wondering, 'How do we fix that? How is this even possible to fix?' So it's a little overwhelming, but over time I guess you forget," Cheek said.

"Sort of like the Olympian curse I guess, you forget how big the challenge is and you just say, 'Ok, let's just get our hands dirty and see what we can do,'" he said.

China, Egypt
Cheek didn't give up, and he was able to see a different side to advocacy in his next trip when he spent time with actors Clooney and Cheadle to rally support for Darfur in Egypt and China.

While the former speed skater was impressed with the knowledge the Hollywood stars had about Darfur and the Sudan -- he claims he was the least-versed person there -- he was also a little in awe of his travel companions.

"It was so cool," Cheek said. "It was like hanging out with all of my buddies, except they were all better looking."

The American was also impressed by the people he met on the trip, as he spent time talking to foreign ministers and diplomats.

Cheek For President?
Cheek's recent experiences have solidified his goal of pursuing a career in politics. While his professional ambitions are still a ways off -- he must first conquer the Ivy-League curriculum at Princeton when he starts school in the fall -- he has already given thought to his future.

The Olympian wants to serve in an elected office where he can make decisions and get things done.

"I want to be involved in the political process in one form or another, just because it matters so much," Cheek said. "I think it's something that people my age and younger, we should be interested in. It shouldn't be a cynical or an uncool thing to be interested in, because it really does matter."

Skating In The Past
One thing Cheek does know for sure about his future is that it does not include skating. The Olympic gold medalist has skated only a handful of times since taking home two jewels from Torino.

While it was an adjustment getting used to life off the rink and away from training, Cheek said he has no regrets about retiring from speed skating.

"I definitely made the right decision. Absolutely, no question, I don't doubt it for a second," Cheek said. "Once you've done all that you want to do, it's time to try and figure out how to do something else."

Spending time helping African refugees, flying with Hollywood stars and preparing to enroll at Princeton, Cheek seems to have had no problem trying his hand at something new.