Clarks Summit native Adam Rippon’s fun-loving personality made him a hit at the Olympic Games.

It also led to the figure skater being offered a job as a correspondent with NBC for the remainder of the Olympics.

Rippon decided he would rather remain in South Korea with his American teammates than take the gig.

“I am so flattered that NBC wanted me to work as a correspondent, but if I took this opportunity, I would have to leave the Olympic team and I would have to leave the [Olympic] Village,” Rippon said Sunday on NBCSN (via USA Today). “It’s so important to me, you know, I worked so hard to be on this Olympic team, and my teammates and my friends were there for me during my events, and that meant so much to me, that I really feel like I need to be there for them during their events.”

After helping the United States earn a bronze medal in the team figure skating event, Rippon placed 10th in the men’s competition.

While Rippon missed out on an individual medley, participating in the Olympics had a big impact on the 28-year-old, who now resides in California.

“They usually say that like, after the Olympic Games, somebody’s life changes forever,” Rippon told the Associated Press. “A lot of times it’s the gold medalist, but I have a feeling that my life has changed forever.”

Adam Rippon of the United States reacts following his performance in the men’s free figure skating final in the Gangneung Ice Arena at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea on Feb. 17.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_ABJ-Rippon.jpg.optimal.jpgAdam Rippon of the United States reacts following his performance in the men’s free figure skating final in the Gangneung Ice Arena at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea on Feb. 17. AP Photo/David J. Phillip

Staff report