Stirred to Song
Before David Steffan took the stage during the Opening Ceremonies of the 2006 USA Special Olympic Games to sing “Let Me,” he reflected on his personal motivation for writing the inspirational song.
“I did not make the song for me,” says Steffan, a Special Olympics athlete from Elkhorn, Nebraska, with twofold talent as a singer/songwriter. “I made it for all the athletes worldwide in Special Olympics, [because] without that inspiration, what has happened to me never would have happened.”
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Special Olympics Nebraska athlete David Steffan poses with the 30 medals he has won during 13 years of Special Olympics competition. [Photo courtesy Steffan family] |
Steffan explains how his participation in Special Olympics has transformed his life.
“Going though school with people mocking me made me never want to go back,” says Steffan, who had mild cerebral palsy as a child. “When I was about 10 years old, a friend of the family introduced me to Special Olympics. At first I did not know what to think, but as soon as I got involved, I knew this was for me.”
Having since won 30 gold medals during his 13 years of competing in Special Olympics events, Steffan has admittedly mastered several sports. But his forte is on the fairways.
“When I started, I only did track, swimming and bowling,” he says. “Then I went to soccer, basketball, tennis, and my favorite sport, golf.” Steffan's expertise in golf has taken him to the National Special Olympics Golf Invitational, where he competed in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. “The first time I was invited I got third. I went back the next year and I came within a stroke of the lead and get second,” he says. “After never giving up, I went back in 2004 and finally won the gold.”
Last year, Steffan was selected to help advance the Special Olympics mission as a Global Messenger. In telling his story to hundreds of people, he wanted to express his personal appreciation for Special Olympics in a more inspiring way.
“I started putting together ideas and finally it hit me: a song!” he says. “But not just any song. I wanted to write a song that Special Olympics athletes could call their own.” Listen to "Let Me" by David Steffan.
In the chorus of “Let Me,” Steffan incorporated the Special Olympics oath: “Let me win, but if I can not win, let me be brave in the attempt.” When he performs it, not only is the audience stirred to emotion, but Steffan is also reminded to “never give up.”
And that specific theme, he says, is the constant that’s spurred him to success as a Special Olympics athlete, and motivated him to hone his talents in song.
By Ryan Eades and Victoria Colette Reynolds
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"Let Me"by Special Olympics Nebraska athlete David Steffan