Known as "Alaska" on his team of nine, Stewart Conn, 16, represented Petersburg well as his 16U USA basketball team went on to win gold at the United World Games.

Conn, a student and basketball player at Petersburg High School, was invited to join the team and traveled to Munich, then Klagenfurt, Austria to play in the tournament.

"I was really scared," his mother, Heather, said of him traveling. "I didn't want him to go, but I also knew it was a once in lifetime opportunity so I had to let him do it."

Stewart signed up with recruiting agency, Student Athlete World, when he was attending...