News

“If I ever need anything I just call… Joan,” Jaeley Huelskamp cringed and laughed as she said the name “Joan.” Joan is more commonly known to Huelskam as “Mrs. Robertson.” It was only recently the two women transitioned from a student-teacher relationship to peers.

Huelskamp completed her inaugural year as an educator at Lake Fenton High School a few months ago. She first met Joan Robertson more than a decade ago, in 2013, as a freshman at Grand Blanc High School. Robertson was leading a new after-school program known as Project UNIFY.

“We like to think of our AmeriCorps positions as service positions. What we’re doing is a service, not a job,” said Austin Shepherd, a Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) AmeriCorps Member. “It’s not ‘I went to work today’ it’s ‘I went to serve today’,” he explained about what he calls ‘The Service Mindset,’ a common personality trait amongst his AmeriCorps colleagues. 

Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 have come and gone, but for the Michigan members representing Special Olympics USA (SO USA), the memories will not soon fade.

Randy Coleman of Horton, Michigan, has been involved with Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) for 13 years. His involvement started as a parent in 2009 when his daughter, Stephanie, signed up to play soccer as an athlete. What started out as helping in practices, led him to become more involved.

Special Olympics is part of a family,” Coleman explained. “What I really enjoy the most is working with the athletes, seeing how they compete, the fulfillment they get out of being part of something, finding out what they can do ability-wise through practice and competition.”

Aerobatics is not a sport offered at Special Olympics; it’s not even an Olympic sport. So, we’ll have to settle with the next closest thing to that – flying down the track. Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) athletics athlete Lawrence Robuste of Ypsilanti knows plenty about flying without wings. When asked what he loves most about his four years as a runner with SOMI he said, “It makes me feel like I can fly.”

If you can’t run, Plunge… unless it’s summer,” said Sean Wheeler, a Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) Parole Agent, when speaking on his experience with the Michigan Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR). Wheeler is an avid Polar Plunger, making an icy dip each winter to raise money and awareness for SOMI athletes. But running? Hard pass. In fact, despite his commitment to volunteering with LETR, running to Wheeler is “miserable.” 

May 30 - June 1, 2024
Central Michigan University - Mount Pleasant, Michigan

The 2024 State Summer Games presented by SpartanNash represents 50 years of in-person competition on the campus of Central Michigan University. Join us for the biggest Special Olympics Michigan event of the year in Mount Pleasant, Michigan!

RESOURCES

Stories from and inspired by the Special Olympics inclusion movement across Michigan and beyond.

Special Olympics Michigan’s podcast is inspired by our Special Olympics athletes - the true game-changers who stand tall, push comfort zones, and inspire us when it counts - in the moment. Through our newest storytelling platform, we share stories about how Special Olympics game-changers met "their moment" and rose above, to make a more inclusive, just world. 

The 2023 State Summer Games, Special Olympics Michigan’s (SOMI) largest annual event, will see attendance numbers return to pre-pandemic levels in 2023. The event on Central Michigan University’s Main Campus in Mount Pleasant, Michigan will host more than 2,000 athletes and Unified Partners for sports competition May 31 – June 2. The event is expected to draw in thousands more coaches, family members, and fans throughout the three-day event. 

The Capitol lawn in Lansing was alive with laughter and cheers this week, as Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) athletes, Unified partners, and supporters invited lawmakers to participate in a sports exhibition following a morning of budget negotiations inside the state house. 

While the mood was light as dozens of legislators learned the skill behind the sports of bocce, soccer, and badminton, the message behind the games was powerful. 

“It’s a lot, there is pressure for me,” said Jessica Duvall, who is a mixture of excitement and nerves as she looks ahead to the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, now just two months away. The 28-year-old is a multi-sport Special Olympics Michigan athlete, but it’s gymnastics that brings her to life.

“I have my friends next to me, my coach in front of me, I am surrounded by people that support me. It’s awesome,” Duvall said with a bright smile and a loud laugh.