Special Olympics by Ben

Special Olympics by Ben - May 2018 Scholarship Essay

I volunteered at the Swimming Special Olympics in Houston over the past 3 years. It was a very important volunteer experience in my life and I'm grateful for the opportunity and would be happy to work it again anytime I could. It was an important lesson for me in working with the intellectually disabled and the importance of volunteer work.
Before the event I had figured that something like the Houston Special Olympics would have been a highly staffed event and that my help wouldn't really be needed so I was adamant to the whole situation. When I arrived it was a whole different story, the swim meet was overwhelmingly understaffed and they needed all the help they could get. I worked tirelessly for 8 hours in several different positions along with everyone else at the venue in order to make sure that it would go smoothly as possible. Everyone was incredibly nice and even though there were a few hiccups throughout the day the event was very memorable to me and to the kids who swam there. I met many kids with intellectual disabilities and they were some of the sweetest kids I have ever had the chance to meet.
The event taught me many things from being able to work with children with disabilities to working job to job flying by the seat of my pants unaware what I would be doing next. Quick learning was necessary part of my volunteer work and I have been able to transfer that into many other jobs and volunteer work I have done over the past few years.
The Special Olympics and the kids who were I met there will always be a part of my heart and I cherish the memories of working that event.