Washington DC Internship

(These two photos are taken via Jerry Holy's camera by some hot rando.)

The past two months I have been in Washington DC as an intern for Special Olympics Project UNIFY. What you may ask is Special Olympics Project UNIFY...well this Special Olympics program is based off of the ideals of Educating, Motivating, and Activating young people through Special Olympics. Whether it be changing perspectives about people with intellectual disabilities or providing leadership positions for young adults, Project UNIFY gets youth and adults working together with the goal of creating an accepting relationship between "all" people.

This summer I was blessed to be a part of a 9 person internship team that was based out of Washington DC. This group of 9 became my family away from home and they all helped me to further establish who I am as a young man. I wanted to give a shout out to the whole Special Olympics Project UNIFY family of interns: Danielle, Laura, Brianna, Jerry, Brad, Jenny, Samantha, and Joan. The last two months have been full of learning experiences that have helped me to better define what I want to do in my future in work and in play.

Besides the great group of interns, there was an amazing staff that helped to provide a professional but fun working atmosphere at the office. Whether it was Madam Jo Jo, Oscar, or Andrea, the three main support staff, or the numerous others that helped make our stay in DC a good experience, everyday was full of positive learning experiences!

I look forward to working with and hearing about all the work that this group of individuals will continue to do in the future. In the meantime...I wanted to spend the next few days recounting the fun that I have had, so for the next week or so I am going to do my best to blog about the hustle and bustle that went on this summer during my internship.

As a closure for this blog I am including two pictures of the interns that will help illustrate what a beautiful group of people I have been working with!

Partners Club Track

Throughout my four years at East High School I have been privileged to be a part of a group of people who know how to have a fun time through all aspects of life. This group I am referring to is the Partners Club. Over the years I have been able to befriend many people through this club and have made friendships that will last a lifetime. One of our primary activities as a club is sports training and competition. In the past month and a half the Partners Club has been training for track and field. We compete in the 4 x 100 meter relay, 100 m dash, shot putt, and long jump. While our training program is not as much of a time commitment as many, we get down to business and train hard when we need to, but we also know how to kick back and have some fun! In these three photos you can see the smiles that are present on all the faces of the athletes. Smiling is one thing that runs rampant throughout all of our activities in Partners Club. One of my favorite people to take pictures of is Linda Willie, who is in the first picture. I have been able to work with Linda for the past two years and I would say she is one of the happiest people I know! With a smile like hers you can't help but smile yourself. Throughout all the training, competing, and partying, Partners Club has been one of the most educational and inspirational groups I have ever been a part of and I thank all those who have been involved in the club through the years!