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Below is a feature article that I wrote about a lovely women by the name of Penny Wells.  The story is about her journey to becoming a coach with the Eugene/Springfield Special Olympics.

Penny Wells’ inspiring story

The story of the special journey one woman has been a part of.

Special Olympics coach Penny Wells sat there, at Emerald Lanes, and discussed the proper bowling technique to one of her many special needs athletes.  Wells continuously encouraged her athletes before the athletes knew whether he or she received a good score or not.  “I want the experience for every athlete to be positive and for them to really get something out of it,” said Wells, who coaches a variety of sports during different seasons for the Eugene/Springfield Special Olympics.

For years, the focus of Wells’ life has been on the special needs community—a transition that did not necessarily happen overnight. She thought for a moment about where her passion began; “when you have a child with special needs all of a sudden your focus turns to what’s most important,” said Wells. The first step to Wells’ transition into working with special needs individuals was a light bulb that went off in her head soon after Danny, her special needs son, was born.  Wells enrolled Danny into a pre-school program, Pace—a program for special needs people—and once a week the program provided the option of a parent-support class, which Wells attended.  The next layer was getting a job working with the program, and including her other two children in the early development sector to build empathy and understanding inside the Wells family.

Danny started Special Olympics when he was 8 years old, when Wells was just a fan and a parent—who, after one of Danny’s games, decided she wanted to be a part of the fun.  Wells now helps coach the ski, bocce, race walking, and bowling programs for the Special Olympics; in all of these coaching endeavors Wells has had very positive experiences.  Wells has developed a passion for working with special needs people; for the past ten years she has worked as a special education teacher in addition to her extensive Special Olympics coaching experience.

“I want it to be a fun experience for them, so they can feel better about themselves and to also be part of the community” said Wells.  This positive transition has been more than apparent in her own son. Wells has also seen the Special Olympics experience positively affect so many of her other athletes.  The Wells family has been “bitten,” as if to be captured by the positive experience gained through the family’s participation with the Special Olympics.

Wells took a moment to gather her thoughts before saying “who knows where I’d be if it hadn’t been for [Danny].”

 

Also below is a magazine cover layout completed in a Journalism class at the University of Oregon.  The picture in the layout was provided by Sung Park, a professor in Oregon’s Journalism School.