#50for50: Volume 24
▪️ Jane Burget
▪️ 66 years old
▪️ Blair County
“[My son] Garran went to Summer Games for the first time and he had never been away from me overnight. Maybe with a family member or something like that, but nothing this long. He was 14 and he knew Penn State because the whole family went there. And so I went to Opening Ceremonies and he’s waving goodbye to me with tears in his eyes and I’m thinking, ‘Oh my god, I’m the worst person in the world. I’m leaving him.’ But, if anything, that experience and his experiences in Special Olympics have given him a significant amount of independence and confidence. I don’t know what else he would be doing if he wasn’t doing Special Olympics. … I think seeing Garran get his first medal at Summer Games in tennis was probably one of the best moments for me. It was the kind of thing that brings tears to your eyes. He played in high school and got into one match a year. He didn’t win, but he was excited to have played. And so to see him win his first medal, he was thrilled to have that around his neck. That’s my most cherished memory. … In 2014, Garran and another athlete from our county, Heather Thomas, were chosen to represent Pennsylvania at the National Games in New Jersey. I applied and was accepted to be the tennis coach. It was a unique experience for me because I never coached at that level, but we helped each other out. They were long days, though. Once you got the athletes settled there was always laundry to do, planning, making sure everyone had their medications. But some of our athletes had never been out of Blair County, so to get to go to New Jersey and go on a cruise around the Statue of Liberty was a great experience. … I taught elementary for 34 years in the Bellwood-Antis School District. My dad was in the Navy, so we moved a lot, but then my parents ended up staying [in the Altoona area]. When my oldest son [Adam] was 11 and Garran was seven my husband died unexpectedly of a heart attack. That was difficult. And at the same time, Garran’s grandmother was ill, so we were taking care of her. Garran was also having seizures but we pretty much got those under control and we joined Special Olympics in 2004. Tennis was absolutely the right fit because he knew the coach and he knew people on the team. We’ve developed some really great relationships across the state. We’ve met some very caring people. You help them and they help you. It’s really like a family.”
