Congratulations to Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) athlete, Aiden Yost, and Unified partner, Kayla Helferich, who have been named Special Olympics U.S. Youth Ambassadors.
The pair's hard work is being recognized at a national level following years of commitment to the Unified movement in Michigan.
Aiden and Kayla are both college sophomores. Their Unified journey began at their respective high schools - Grand Blanc High School and Grandville High School - where they quickly became leaders of the inclusion movements in their building, participating in Unified Champion Schools (UCS) programming.
Additionally, Aiden and Kayla joined SOMI's state-wide Youth Activation Committee (YAC). The two met for the first time at the Special Olympics Unified Cup Detroit 2022, where they spent the week as Unified reporters, covering the stories coming out of such a monumental week.
Kayla and Aiden both had the chance to attend the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 and take part in the week in various capacities including volunteering at the games and attending the Global Youth Leadership Summit.
We are so excited to have Aiden & Kayla represent Michigan as U.S. Youth Ambassadors for the 2024-2026 term. They are true gamechangers!