The Olympics is an event that everyone looks forward to and that a variety of athletes prepares for vigorously. The demands put on athletes are intense and the honor is high, and for those involved in the Special Olympics there is a lot of opportunity as well. This year, the Ross Medical Education Center campus in Huntsville, Alabama was thrilled to join the effort to help put on the 2016 Special Olympics Alabama.
The Special Olympics Alabama was held at Milton Frank Stadium. Ross Huntsville students in the Medical Assistant program and those in the Medical Insurance Billing and Office Administration program teamed up with students from Jemison High School’s Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC). The Ross students and JROTC students spent their day volunteering at the Special Olympics Alabama.
Similar to the demands of the regular Olympics, participation in the Special Olympics requires hard work, determination, and perseverance. According to the Special Olympics website, “the mission of the Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.” Founded in 1968, the main goal of the Special Olympics is to encourage active lifestyles and break down barriers between groups of people.
On the big day, the Ross and JROTC students volunteered with assisting athletes and providing meal preparation for the event. Elizabeth Bowden, Campus Director at Ross Medical Education Center in Huntsville, shared about the day, “the students were excited and felt that their day was well spent as they were doing something special for someone else.” Ross staff, faculty, and students considered it an honor to be a part of such an incredible day.
