Unified Sports
Unified College Delegation at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Sophie
Region
North America
Program
Nebraska
Project Year
2021
Sophie Hill is a Special Olympics Youth Leader and participant of the 2019 Special Olympics North America Inclusive Youth Leadership Summit who will lead a Youth Innovation Project to expand Unified Sports programs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Sophie hopes to grow SO College participation levels by sharing her story and creating a new model for inclusion that can be replicated by other colleges. In addition to creating more opportunities for athletes to participate in Unified Sports, Sophie will develop a video resource that shows her experience and describes how colleges can bring inclusion to their schools. Through this project, she envisions making the University of Nebraska-Lincoln an inclusive campus and promoting a model of inclusion that can be spread to campuses across the state and eventually the entire nation. Over 9 months, Sophie will engage over 75 athletes and volunteers on campus. They will work together to make her university a Unified School that offers more than one sport per season and allows athletes of all ability levels to participate. Once this programming is set up, Sophie hopes it will continue beyond the project concluding. Sophie will then create a video discussing how she implemented Unified Sports programming within her college and how to gain needed resources, which will give schools a framework to follow and help promote Special Olympics college clubs. As a member of the Unified Generation, Sophie has found a sense of purpose, belonging, and happiness within this community. By leading this project and sharing her story, more college students will see all that can be gained as a member of the Unified Generation and will be inspired to join the movement themselves.