Austin (17) has participated with Special Olympics to the fullest extent for many years. This year is his third year participating in Unified physical education. Over the years he has been involved with Unified track & field, bowling and snowshoeing. Austin has also taken on leadership roles within Special Olympics, serving as both a Youth Leader and Youth Ambassador for Special Olympics North America, and holding a position on the Minnesota Board of Student Directors. Additionally, Austin volunteered for Young Athletes withSpecial Olympics Minnesota. He is a proud member of the Unified Generation because Austin values inclusion and spreading the message of inclusion to other youth. He hopes that one day his community (and beyond) will be more aware, educated and accommodating to people with disabilities.

Natalie has been very involved with Special Olympics for a few years now. For the past two years, Natalie has participated in Unified physical education. She has also been involved in Unified track & field, bowling and snowshoeing. Special Olympics is important to Natalie and is such a big part of her life. Natalie hopes to incorporate the message of inclusion into every aspect of her life, including her future career. She had the opportunity to work as an intern for the special education teachers at her local elementary school, and to serve on the Minnesota Board of Student Directors. Both roles reaffirmed her passion for inclusion and raising awareness about it. Natalie became a Youth Leader because she considers herself a lifelong learner. She is always looking to learn more, and Special Olympics has been so impactful for her in this way. She has loved learning about disability and inclusion, applying this knowledge in her life and at Special Olympics events, and creating positive experiences for youth with and without ID.
Austin and Natalie noticed a lack of knowledge about, support for, and experience with people with disabilities in their community. They feel that members of their community are aware of the names of certain disabilities and know a little bit about them, but are not equipped to, or informed on how best to support or interact with people with disabilities. They find this to be especially problematic in their local schools, as students with disabilities are excluded rather than being accommodated. Austin and Natalie hope through their project they can disseminate information and hopefully change attitudes and behaviors of the people and systems in their district one step at a time!
Over the course of the 9 months of their project, Austin and Natalie plan to accomplish the following: purchase books from the inclusion library (K-5) for all classrooms in their school, deliver these books, work directly with youth in these schools to discuss the content of the books and familiarize them on the topics of disability and inclusion.
Austin and Natalie hope their project will not only help the youth in their schools become more aware and informed on inclusion, but they also hope to improve their literacy along the way. Additionally, they hope to educate the teachers and staff of their schools on these topics and include everyone in the movement.