Another Great Semester of VUnited

Last spring, I wrote about my wonderful experience as a participant in VUnited, a program run by Villanova students that provides an opportunity for people with intellectual disabilities to be exposed to college life.

This past weekend was the final week of the program, and included presentations by the students, along with awarding the students certificates of completion.

The presentations were the culmination of a six week program that taught students about money management, health, nutrition, grocery shopping, cooking, job applications, and social media.

The presentations were fantastic. The students had been asked to talk about something they were passionate about, and they delivered. Among the topics discussed were:

• a young man presented photos of his recent tour of some national parks with his mom; you could tell he loved the trip.
• a young man gave a talk about how to give an effective speech; one of the funniest speeches I have heard in a while, the presenter was quite good
• a young man talked about how much he liked working at McDonald’s; kudos to the young man and McDonald’s
• a young man showed pictures of places around the world he has visited, including Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Tucson, and Dublin
• a young man talked about his experience as the manager of a local high school football team, and how he actually got in a game – and scored a touchdown!
• a young woman talked about her family, including the fact that her dad is a Cowboys fan, while she and her mom are Eagles fans!
• a young woman showed many pictures of her time spent playing softball and soccer as part of the Special Olympics; you can tell she loves being part of the team
• a young woman wrapped it up by also talking about her love of playing basketball as part of the Special Olympics; she noted that her goal is to teach basketball to her friends in India!

So congratulations to the students for making such wonderful presentations, and to all the Villanova students who served as mentors and friends to these students.

It’s students like this that make Villanova a special place, and I am honored to be part of such a wonderful group. You can learn more about VUnited by clicking here.