USA Games Extends Beyond Competitions

SEATTLE, Wash. — The 2018 Special Olympics USA Games has offered a different, but equally wonderful experience to a pair of Trabuco Hills High School students.

Priscilla Price and Eloisa Pichon are part of the Youth Leadership Experience, and early highlights from their trip include meeting Special Olympics chairman Tim Shriver.

Priscilla’s Special Olympics experience started with a Unified P.E. class, and that’s when she got to know Eloisa better. She continued with Unified Sports and eventually was chosen as the club’s officer. Trabuco Hills is among the many Unified Champion Schools involved with Special Olympics Southern California.

The pair’s teacher submitted an application that led to their USA Games experience.

“I love how inclusive the environment is and how everyone is so caring,” Priscilla said.

Priscilla and Eloisa’s activities at the Games include shadowing staff members, and one included a look into the media operations/communications side. It was then Eloisa’s eyes lit up when she received a quick photography lesson and handled the camera for a few moments.

Jesus Cabrera, their mentor and the Orange County region’s senior manager of sports and programs,  said the opportunity shows “what Special Olympics has to offer outside of school.”

“It’s providing opportunities for them to develop their leadership skills,” he continued. “It gets them to see a bigger picture of how they can stay involved. This is critical for our movement because they will be the next generation that will lead Special Olympics for the next 50 years. We want to make sure they have all the tools and knowledge necessary to be positive contributors to our movement.”