BlogsStudent LifeServiceUpper School
Special Olympics: Making the Most of an Opportunity
Apr 25, 2013 10:28 AM
By Noah Brown '16 - '16
During the 2013 Special Olympics, I had a lot of experiences with the Just As I Am choir, which is a group of students who make a constant effort to reach out to people despite their disabilities. They were running the 400 meter and relays that I couldn’t have been successful in doing, but they came out and they finished.
Our jobs as volunteers were to put a smile on their faces. I believe the Special Olympians changed my life more than I changed theirs. They showed me how they are exactly like us; they want to be loved and cheered for, just like we want that.
The first station I was in charge of was the water station. The water people ensure that the participants are not dehydrated/thirsty. We want to make the Special Olympics as comfortable for the Olympians as possible. After I helped with the water station, I was called to help with the assisted walking and wheelchair racing events. The assisted walking really hit home with me because some of these kids were using machines and braces. But when they took off running (those that could), their faces were lit up with joy because they were finally making a difference and people were cheering for them. There were deaf people there and even though they couldn’t hear us, they knew we were cheering because of the waving of hands and the opening of our mouths. There was one little deaf boy who loved to race. Up and down the track he ran and I just thought, "Wow! Even though he is deaf, he is still making the most of his opportunity."
I took away from this experience a lot and I will be a better person in the future because of this experience. This experience can be applied to my career at Darlington. Darlington is a great place with a lot of opportunities. I believe this experience has taught me to make the most of what I got and that is a lot!
Our jobs as volunteers were to put a smile on their faces. I believe the Special Olympians changed my life more than I changed theirs. They showed me how they are exactly like us; they want to be loved and cheered for, just like we want that.
The first station I was in charge of was the water station. The water people ensure that the participants are not dehydrated/thirsty. We want to make the Special Olympics as comfortable for the Olympians as possible. After I helped with the water station, I was called to help with the assisted walking and wheelchair racing events. The assisted walking really hit home with me because some of these kids were using machines and braces. But when they took off running (those that could), their faces were lit up with joy because they were finally making a difference and people were cheering for them. There were deaf people there and even though they couldn’t hear us, they knew we were cheering because of the waving of hands and the opening of our mouths. There was one little deaf boy who loved to race. Up and down the track he ran and I just thought, "Wow! Even though he is deaf, he is still making the most of his opportunity."
I took away from this experience a lot and I will be a better person in the future because of this experience. This experience can be applied to my career at Darlington. Darlington is a great place with a lot of opportunities. I believe this experience has taught me to make the most of what I got and that is a lot!
