It’s a crisp sunny day in late spring at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The 2024 NIRSA National Basketball Championships are taking place and two teams from Michigan are in town looking to bring home the championship.
Emily Tymick first got involved with Special Olympics as a volunteer and was hooked quickly, turning it into a career. More than a decade later, she was recognized by her peers as the SONA Sports Person of the Year.
It’s a cold and windy weekend in the quiet college town of Stillwater, Oklahoma, but despite it being winter break for Oklahoma State University, you can hear the cheers of students. The campus is playing host to the NIRSA Flag Football national championships, an opportunity for campus rec teams to come together and compete for the trophy and bragging rights. Among the competitors is a group of people truly committed to the inclusive power of sports: the seven teams in the Special Olympics College Club Unified division.
Throughout Washington D.C., Special Olympics athletes, Unified partners, and staff from 47 states and the District of Columbia are meeting with members of Congress to advocate for the continuance of funding for the movement’s life-changing work in education and health.
Alex Singleton has laced up his cleats countless times throughout his amateur and professional football career. It’s part of his well-honed pre-game routine, something that does not change from game to game. But on December 3, 2023, there was a change. A noticeable and meaningful one.
“I got involved with Special Olympics when I was in school and I was put down all my life. So, I found out about Special Olympics and how they accepted people and how we get the opportunity to compete.”
When Pleskow is not swimming in the Potomac River alongside her mom or running on the track, she can be found within the walls of Brightspot—a software development company just outside the nation’s capital in Reston, Virginia.