Photo courtesy Betty Alvarez
The Annual Southlake Carroll ISD (CISD) Special Olympics Banquet took place April 21 at Carroll Senior High School. The event is a time for coaches, family and friends to come together and celebrate these athletes.
The athletes of CISD Special Olympics compete in five different sports year round: bowling, track and field, tennis, swimming and basketball. They compete in local, area and state competitions.
According to Betty Alvarez, a CISD parent and event photographer, the special needs teen athletes are responsible for bringing home several gold and silver medals to add to the Dragon collection.
Betty's daughter, Chloe, is a freshman at Carroll and studies journalism. She was in attendance of the event, and wanted to contribute to this article with her first-hand experience. Chloe writes:
“An uplifting sensation surrounded the room the night of the Special Olympics banquet. A grin was stretched from ear to ear upon everyone's face in the room, not because of the amazing food or the upbeat music, but from the remarkable unique kids that bring the best out of anyone they surround. …My relationship with each of these students has grown from my experience in H.O.P.E in middle school to now in high school. Each kid has the ability to bring out the best in me, or turn my day around no matter what happens to make me smile and laugh. That night I also met some new faces, and in the matter of a few steps along to the Cha Cha Slide we became BFFs! Every single one of these kids are the kids you don't just walk past by in the halls, but the kids you stop what you're doing just to give them a hug because you love seeing their smile.”