#50for50: Volume 25
▪️ Alex Grubisa
▪️ 26 years old
▪️ Westmoreland County
“Basketball is my favorite because I’m really good at it. I played on my basketball team all through high school when I at Clelian Heights. It was a Catholic school for kids with special needs and now my former basketball coach there is my coach for Special Olympics. He’s a really good coach and he’s really awesome. He teaches us a lot of stuff and inspires us and motivates us into doing our best to have fun and support our teammates. In high school, we played against two other special needs schools in the county, and it was good just being on the court and having fun with my friends. Our biggest rival was Clairview. They had some really good athletes. I had my best game against them one time when I scored 32 points and got 18 rebounds. … I’m a really good bowler, too. I remember back in December, it was December 7th on my birthday, I got first place and then I got a really big kiss from my girlfriend since she found out I won. It was her first year doing bowling, too. We’ve been together for six months. And bowling for Special Olympics was on the same day as I was doing a show for my acting class. I’m involved in an Autism workshop called The Stage Right Inspirations. I’ve been with them for three years. I’ve always been interested in acting and that’s how I met my girlfriend. … We meet for the acting class every Friday and it’s very inclusive. We do junior versions of actual shows. Right now we’re doing Aladdin and I’m playing Jafar. We’ve been doing Zoom meetings recently, but we were rehearsing for Aladdin at the studio [before the pandemic]. I also work as a camp counselor, a camp buddy for an Autism camp at Antiochian Village. I enjoy working with younger children who have Autism like I do. … I work at my former high school as a Teacher’s Assistant and a part-time PCA [Personal Care Assistant]. After I finished two years at Westmoreland County Community College, I volunteered at my high school for three years. And then I got a job application from my former principal and she said it’d be nice for me to work there. At the time, there had never been a former student with special needs who came back as an employee, so I became the first person to do that. It’s kind of nostalgic to me. It’s like seeing part of my childhood again. As a teacher’s assistant, I help a lot of teachers and PCA’s with their jobs. I also am really good at doing tasks for some of them. And I enjoy working with the kids. I enjoy helping them the way I was helped when I was a kid. … My parents are my biggest support system and they help me a lot. I’ve been living on my own ever since I was 21. I’m saving up for a car and hoping to get my Learner’s Permit and Driver’s License soon. I understand that not a lot of people my age or who are just like me are so lucky. I understand that some of them can’t always live on their own. They have to go to a workshop or group home and might not be able to get a job, so that’s why I try to give back.”
