Hello, my name is Thomas Parks. I am 22 years old, and I’ve been involved with Special Olympics for 17 years. I want to share my story of why I want to keep going with the Special Olympics and what did Special Olympics do for me.
By Thomas Parks, assisted by Sylvia Rodriguez
I was introduced to Special Olympics in elementary school, and I was the only kid in the Special Ed who participated in Special Olympics; the first sport I did was track and field. As soon I got the opportunity to do Special Olympics, I loved every second of it. Until 7th grade, I stopped doing Special Olympics because I was playing football and basketball with the school in FWISD I couldn’t make time for Special Olympics.
Until high school, in my sophomore year, I wanted to return to Special Olympics, so I asked my mom if she could find me a team to play on; I played with the Fort Worth Flames and Fort Worth Titans.
When I was playing with Fort Worth Flames, my best friend Danny introduced me to unified and told me how unified works, and he told me there was a meeting at TCU, so I went to TCU, and that’s where I met Thomas Lacy. I met the other athletes and unified partners at the meeting, and we immediately built chemistry when we started with flag football and basketball.
This past summer, we went to the USA games in Orlando, Florida; it was a lifetime experience, and we made long-lasting memories. And I’m happy that there is a healthy athlete program. As an athlete, I want to know if my health is good and how I can get things for my health.
Today I get to participate in a Leadership Conference, something I thought I would never be a part of.