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Maine South students chosen for leadership program during 2022 Special Olympics USA games

Pioneer Press Newspapers - 9/14/2021

Sep. 14—Two students from Maine South High School in Park Ridge are headed to the Special Olympics USA games next year as youth leaders.

Katrina Hassman and Jake Besenjak learned they were selected as the only Illinois pair of Special Olympics Leadership Experience representatives for the 2022 games during a surprise announcement at the Park Ridge school Friday.

Hassman and Besenjak will travel to Orlando, Florida for the games, where, over a one-week period next June, they will run public relations campaigns via social media, shadow coaches and other staff, and work as event volunteers, said Michelle Dwyer, a Maine South special education teacher and Special Olympics coach.

"They will be learning hands-on what it takes to run part of this organization and to also give back as leaders," she said.

Dwyer herself also learned that she was chosen to participate in the 2022 Special Olympics as a bowling coach.

According to Special Olympics, Youth Leadership Experience, developed for the 2018 games, is an opportunity for selected students to learn about inclusion through a variety of activities and training opportunities. Each student pair selected for the YLE consists of a student with an intellectual disability and one student without a disability, according to Special Olympics.

Hassman, a junior at Maine South, has already stepped into leadership roles within her school as an officer of Maine South's inclusion club, Hawk Pals, and as a member of Special Olympics Illinois' Youth Activation Committee, which helps to plan an annual leadership summit for students across the state. She also participates in Special Olympics Illinois Unified Sports, which brings together mainstream students and students with intellectual disabilities for competition in sports.

"I love being part of Special Olympics and being able to represent Illinois (at the 2022 games) is a very big deal," Hassman said. "I just cannot wait to do that."

Besenjak, a sophomore at Maine South, is also a member of the Illinois Youth Activation Committee. He said he enjoys being part of Special Olympics through his school because it has helped him make new friends.

Because events could not take place in person during the previous school year due to the pandemic, some of the more traditional sports were replaced with activities like bingo or making gingerbread houses, which Besenjak said he took part in.

Jennifer Kelso, director of youth initiatives for Special Olympics Illinois, said Hassman and Besenjak were chosen to represent Illinois in the Youth Leadership Experience after they were observed and interviewed by Special Olympics representatives.

Their "desire to change the world and make it a more inclusive place" stood out to the judges and led to their selection, Kelso said.

In 2019, Maine South was named a Special Olympics National Banner Unified Champion School for its efforts in incorporating students with special needs into school activities and sports.

"A Special Olympics Unified Champion School has an inclusive school climate and exudes a sense of collaboration, engagement and respect for all members of the student body and staff," reads a description on the Special Olympics website.

jjohnson@chicagotribune.com

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