Photo By Spc. Kianna Scott | Sofia Siakisini, Special Olympics participant, throws a softball during the 2024...... read more read more
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea - Student athletes representing both the United States and the Republic of Korea participated in a combined Special Olympics event, April 11, at Camp Humphreys, during the celebration of the Month of the Military Child.
The event brought 36 athletes from the installation’s schools (Central Elementary, West Elementary, Humphreys Middle School and Humphreys High School) as well as from Daegu. Additionally, 17 students from Segyo and Dongbang schools in Pyeongtaek also participated.
Dennis McCallum, performance center manager for the master resiliency courses, served as the master of ceremonies for the event. As the adjacent stands were filled with students from surrounding schools, McCallum encouraged them to focus their attention on the athletes and to cheer for their schoolmates.
“I’ve been involved with Special Olympics for many years,” said McCallum who has three children, one of which is a special-needs child. “This is another way I can give forward to make sure everyone gets a chance to get cheered for, everyone gets a chance to be recognized and we can do some wonderful things to support our athletes.”
McCallum retired from the Army after 31 years and said he appreciates how Special Olympics is taking place during the Month of the Military Child.
“They are pulled from their community and their friends often and have to make really fast friends again,” said McCallum. “By recognizing them with their own month gives them an opportunity to say, ‘somebody knows how I am and recognizes me.’”
The event was coordinated by Heather Barrett, LIMS teachers at Humphreys Middle School. It was her first time planning the event and said she enjoyed seeing the students connect with one another.
“The highlight of my day was seeing the students have fun and get excited for themselves and for each other,” said Barrett. “It was amazing seeing them interact with students from other schools.”
Dr. Joel Black, the pediatric physical therapist for U.S. Forces Korea, said much of the success of the event came from the volunteers who helped support Special Olympics. Black’s role was to serve as a logistics coordinator and ensure the set up happened correctly as well as the schedule of events.
“One of the things I love most about being with Special Olympics I get to tell everyone why we get to do this,” said Black. “The people in Special Olympics, their (intelligence quotients) are not as high and so there are some things in life they can’t do as well - but their emotional equation, their EQ, is so much higher than ours and we get to learn from them how to love better and how to be amazing victors - even in times when we don’t win.
Barrett says while she hopes that the athletes enjoyed the day, her desires was for the entire community to have benefited from the event.
“I hope the athletes had fun, and gained confidence in their abilities,” said Barrett. “I hope the staff and the families of the athletes got to see their students work hard and do something amazing. I hope the students who came to watch had fun but more so, I hope events like this help foster inclusion and acceptance in the future. Students with disabilities can often have a hard time connecting with their peers, and I just hope that these events can breed familiarity and connection between all students.”
Through Special Olympics, Barrett says she learned a lot and is looking forward to creating more engagements between Pyeongtaek and the Humphreys schools.
“I’m so glad the students from Pyeongtaek were able to come,” said Barrett. “I look forward to working with them next year.”
| Date Taken: | 04.16.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 04.16.2024 21:07 |
| Story ID: | 468685 |
| Location: | 41, KR |
| Web Views: | 19 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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