May 11, 2009 - Spring Special Olympics Regional Summer Games
By Jeff Friedman, Jaeger Civic Intern
On Saturday, May 9, Dartmouth hosted the 5th annual Special Olympics regional summer games at Memorial Track. Derek Stenquist, a '10 on the Men's Soccer Team was co-director of the opening ceremonies with Catalina Gorla, an '09. Stenquist pulled together all of the materials and other aspects of the opening ceremonies over the past few weeks and the event is very important to all of the athletes who participate. Stenquist noticed that he recognized many of this year's group of athletes from last year and the year before. To kick off the opening ceremonies, Stenquist and other volunteers played the Olympic theme song over a PA system while the athletes marched around the track their teams, holding signs representing each team. A Boy Scout color guard from Hanover led the procession and one of the scouts led the pledge of allegiance. Additionally, the Rockapellas, one of Dartmouth's premier singing groups, sang the national anthem and Sarah Parsons, a '10 on the Women's hockey team and Olympic bronze medalist, was the keynote speaker. After the Special Olympics oath was read by all of the athletes, the games officially began.
Stenquist said that the experience of directing the Special Olympics Regional Summer Games was fantastic. He noted, “The opportunity to direct the opening ceremonies and volunteer afterwards was so rewarding because it was amazing to see the athletes prepare for the event and to know how much it meant to them.” Stenquist also said that he and the other volunteers printed a program with all the teams and every athlete's name. He then read each athlete's name as they paraded in for the opening ceremonies. Clearly, this felt like the real Olympics. Stenquist was very thankful for the great help from the FO&M staff and Shadara MacNicol. Ultimately, Stenquist said the games were “a huge success” and is really excited for next year's Special Olympics games. Dartmouth is lucky to have athletes like Stenquist who are so involved in Community Service. In addition to serving as Director of the Opening Ceremonies for the Spring Special Olympics, Stenquist will next year be the head of Thetford Mentoring, a program that sends Dartmouth students to Thetford, VT where they act as mentors for younger children.
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