Personal Narrative: My Involvement With Best Buddies

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Many people associate the word “team” with sports. I have played on sports teams for most of my life. This includes being the long snapper for the Vanderbilt University Football team and receiving a tryout for the National Football League’s (NFL) New England Patriots. The most meaningful teams for me, however, are the ones I am a member of off the field. Brothers typically walk together on the first day of school. However, walking with my brother Mike on his first day at my school was anything but typical. Mike has Down syndrome, but my parents and the school administrators both agreed that Mike should attend my elementary school to interact with children his own age. As we walked, I remember my mind racing with one question – How will the My brother and I became a team of two. We spent lunch and recess together even as my friends ate and played without me for several weeks. After a while, however, others followed my lead and our lunch and recess group grew to include all of my friends. Ultimately, Mike ended up developeding new friendships, hadving new experiences, and grewowing emotionally in ways that he could not otherwise have by attending my school. My relationship with my brotherOur relationship became the catalyst for my involvement with Best Buddies International. Best Buddies’ mission is to provide individuals with intellectual disabilities the opportunity for social inclusion and mentorship. I am in my thirteenth year of volunteering and currently sit on the Expansion Board of Best Buddies in Ohio . Being an active member of Best Buddies and creating a team with my best buddy, my brother, show how working together can have a direct impact on the people and organizations I care about the To gain the trust of my teammates, I focused our team on solving some of the biggest challenges the Browns faced. For example, gathering customer insights is often more difficult for sports franchises as compared to organizations operating in other industries. By unifying data from disparate sources into one central location, my team has been able to paint composite pictures of individual fans. This enabled the Browns to learn more about our customers and their purchasing decisions to create programs that drive revenue, minimize costs, and improve overall fan engagement. Ultimately, Tthese efforts allow my team to experience the rewards of being one of the most valued groups in the organization and one of the first of its kind in the NFL. Many of my most significant accomplishments stem from being part of a team. My relationship with my family, having the opportunity to start an organization to help others, and working as a leader in the industry I love all would not have been possiblehave been impossible without teamwork. Joining the Stanford team will provide me with the skills and experience to continue building the types of teams that have had such personal significance to me throughout my entire

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