This is Ryann Johnson, a now senior at Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) school. We met Ryann at the 2024 Pittsburgh Cool Schools Plunge in the middle of her junior year.
“I’ve been a Unified partner on the track and field team since my freshman year at CAPA. I’m a dancer at CAPA, too. I’m a Pittsburgh Promise Ambassador as well.
I have family members with Down Syndrome, and I just think it’s very important to support and show people, ‘Come on, let’s have fun and be together.’ It’s all about community.”
We asked Ryann, “What exactly does inclusivity and Unified mean to your family?”
“It definitely means allowing everybody to be themselves at all times, no matter what. The best quote I’ve ever heard is, ‘No matter the language you speak, we all laugh in the same language.’ So, just laughing together, having fun, cracking jokes. We all connect by music, by something.
There’s always something that you can find that people are like, aligned with, so I just think finding similarities and embracing them to the best of your ability.”
When posed the question, “What do you have to say to anyone thinking about becoming a Unified Partner?” Ryann was eager to answer.
“DO IT! DO IT, DO IT, DO IT. It’s so much fun. You won’t regret it. The only thing you’ll regret is if you don’t do it.
Love more, hate less.”
Special Olympics Pennsylvania can’t wait to have “Beyond the Game” chats during this year’s Polar Plunge season. To #BraveTheBear and sign up for a Plunge near you, visit www.PlungePA.org
