Gracie Flanagan

U.S. Youth Ambassadors

• Iantha Khan Southern California
• Amanda Ford Southern California
• Jackson Escamilla Texas
• James Ramirez Texas
• Troy Paul Northern California
• Citlali Gallo Northern California
• Evie Sly Iowa
• Joy Daisy Rector Iowa
• Liam Price Indiana
• Elizabeth Price Indiana
• Gabriel Scott Oregon
• MaryAnne Mollahan Oregon
• Natalie Green Hi! My name is Natalie, and I have been a part of Special Olympics since 2012. I compete in cycling and soccer, and was a member of the RSL Unified soccer team. I have attended the 2018 USA Games in Seattle as a Youth Leader, and the 2019 World Games in Abu Dhabi as staff-in-training for SONA.
• Katherine Stineman My name is Katherine and I am a senior at Lawrence High school! I first got involved with Special Olympics through Unified basketball at my school. This is where I met one of my best friends, and my partner, Gracie Flanagan! I have been involved in Unified basketball, soccer, and bocce, but my favorite is basketball! I also serve on the Youth Activation Committee for Special Olympics Kansas. Promoting inclusion is so important and I hope to use my position as an ambassador to being inclusion to my community, state, and country.
• Gracie Flanagan Hi! My name is Gracie and I am a Senior at Lawrence High School in Lawrence, Kansas. I have been a Special Olympics athlete for 6 years. I participate in swimming, track, basketball, soccer, softball, bowling and Unified basketball, soccer and bocce. I am a member of the Kansas YAC with my friend Katherine. I am a leader by working hard, being happy and making sure everyone is included and active. My goal is to have Unified Sports in every high school.
  
• Joey Drwal Hello! My name is Joey Drwal and I am a student in my district Young Adult Program in Omaha, Nebraska. I started in Special Olympic Nebraska's Young Athlete Program when I was 6 years old and now participate in 7 Special Olympic sports. My favorite sports are the unified sports I play in! I am a graduate of the Special Olympics Nebraska Athlete Leadership Program and have been a member of the Youth Activation Committee advocating and educating communities in Nebraska about inclusion and acceptance. I am excited to be a U.S. Youth Ambassador so I can continue to spread awareness about inclusion not only in my state but other states, school districts and communities.
  
• Sophie Hill Hi! I'm Sophie Hill, a freshman at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. When I first started Unified Activities in middle school, I immediately fell in love with the everyone embraced each other for who they are which created an environment where everyone felt like they belonged. As I've gotten more and more involved in the movement, my passion for inclusion has only grown. This past year, I was the Chairman for the Special Olympics Nebraska Youth Activation Committee. I am excited to embark on a new chapter with Special Olympics as a US Youth Ambassador and share my story to inspire people to join the Unified Generation!
  
• Sam Pirker-Fruehauf Hello, my name is Samantha and I am a senior at Swartz Creek High School, MI. I started getting involved in Special Olympics about four years ago and have been in love with it ever since! It has fueled my belief that inclusion is needed in everyone’s life because it gives every person the opportunity to express their thoughts and opinions. My passion for Special Olympics and inclusion began when my brother started competing in events like track and field and bowling. I joined a unified champions class that helped me learn the basics and got me started on my long, exciting journey. Outside of Special Olympics and Unified Champions I am in student council, link crew, and I am working on becoming fluent in asl.
  
• Max Hinga Hello! My name Max and I am a senior at Portage Northern High School. I have been a Special Olympics athlete since I was 8yrs old. I have competed in skiing, bowling, track and field, basketball, soccer and softball. For Portage Northern, I run Cross Country and Track & Field and am kicking for the Football Team this year. I am also a Link Crew Member, helping new students, and a Michigan Special Olympics YAC member for the second year. Last year, with the help of my teacher, Mrs. Hall, I started a Special Olympics Unified Basketball Team, and a Unified Club, at my school. I was able to be the leader of the Unified Club. I loved it because I love inclusion and I have never been able to lead. This gave me the opportunity to lead and spread Inclusion, not just in our club, but throughout our school.
• Ella Mohney Hello, I am Ella Mohney. I have recently graduated from Brockport High school. While attending high school I participated it Unified Basket Ball for 3 years in person and one virtual. I also was part of the unified bowling team in our first season. I have participated in the county games as well. Out side of school I enjoy taking dance classes and first responders youth group. I love spending time with my friends and family.
  
• Courtney Langelotti Hello! I am Courtney Langelotti. I live in Brockport, New York. I will be attending SUNY Brockport this year as a freshman! I have been involved with Special Olympics for about 4 years, but have been promoting inclusion for as long as I can remember. I am so excited to continue to be pushing our communities to become more inclusive, and to make sure there are equal opportunities for everybody.
  
• Elise Anton My name is Elise Anton and I am from Denver, Colorado. I am currently a senior at East High School. I became involved in Special Olympics because of our school's #Unified club and could not be more honored to be a US Youth Ambassador! I developed my passion for advocating for people with disabilities because of my amazing sister Sophia Anton, who happens to have Down Syndrome. I noticed that Sophia and other individuals like her are not only treated differently, but discriminated against for their disabilities and I cannot wait to spread importance of inclusion during my ambassadorship!
  
• Sophia Anton Hi my name is Sophia Anton! I am a freshman at East High School and I am a person with Down Syndrome. I got involved in Special Olympics because of my big sister Elise Anton. I think that everybody is amazing--especially if they have a disability! I want people to know that we can do anything we put our minds to and want more people to see that disabilities are not a boundary!
  
• Rachelle Orozco Hello! My name is Rachelle Orozco, I am 16 years old and I attend Cortez High school in Phoenix, Arizona. I first got involved in Special Olympics my sophomore year last August when a friend of mine and I wanted to just get out there and make new friends. Ever since then, I have gotten the opportunity to get to know these amazing human beings. One of the new best friends I made in there was named Lexi and she's a big reason as to why I love being apart of this awesome community. I am beyond excited to embark on this new journey alongside Lexi!
• Lexi Dibbern My Name is Lexi Dibbern. I am in 10th grade at Cortez High School in Phoenix. I have autism and am very social. I like to help people and I love animals. I am kind and have a big heart. I enjoy school and many sports. I work hard and give a lot of effort to things I do.
  
• Fernando Jurado My name is Fernando Jurado, I’m a student at CHEC located in Washington DC. I come from a Latino/Italian family. I have lots of hobbies from swimming to singing. I pride myself in being a good leader to my family friends and people I meet. I’m a social butterfly so I’ll always make a friend.
  
• Cristian Salvador-Campos My name is Cristian. I am 16 years old. I go to Columbia Heights Educational Campus. I like traveling to Catholic University to compete in games. My favorite sport is soccer. I like playing with my friends in our Special Olympics shirts.
  
• Jordan Adeyemi My name is Jordan Adeyemi. I am 14 years old, live in Duluth, Georgia and recently started my boarding school journey as a freshman at the Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH. I am passionate about the intersection of international policy, sustainability and sports. My passion led my brother and I to start the Shoeless Ones, a nonprofit program that collects fairly new and used athletic shoes and donates them to children in underserved communities. I truly believe that every child should be given the opportunity to play sports, regardless of their abilities. I attended the Special Olympic youth forum in 2019 and wanted to do more to create awareness about inclusion. Thank you for the opportunity to be a Special Olympics U.S. Youth Ambassador.
  
• Steven Russel Steven Russell is a multisport star with Special Olympics Georgia. He competes with the Special K’s, a Special Olympics agency based in north Fulton. Steven excels in cycling, soccer, long distance running, and basketball. In one day this past year, he went from running in a 5k fundraiser for Special Olympics Georgia to playing in a soccer tournament at the Atlanta United training grounds. Steven was also part of the Special K’s Marathon by Midnight relay team, helping to raise $3000 to support Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Steven brings maximum effort to everything he does!