Parent Teacher Magazine Union County Public Schools Sept/Oct 2018 | Page 13

Ninth grade gymnast flips and tumbles her way into history at Special Olympics USA
Several years ago, Brielle Mulroy was a
Porter Ridge Middle student who was one
of the first integrated gymnasts in North
Carolina to compete in an Amateur Athletic
Union (AAU) state competition. At the
time, the energetic 12- year-old with Down
Syndrome was regularly making waves in
the local gymnastics community where she
repeatedly participated in floor, uneven
bars and vaulting competitive events.
Now, Brielle is flipping and tumbling
her way into history again as one of only
two gymnasts from North Carolina to
participate in the 2018 Special Olympics
USA competition, which was held
the week of July 2. This was
the first time in 13 years that
gymnasts were included as part
of Special Olympics USA’s Team
North Carolina, and Brielle was
the youngest Special Olympics
USA athlete in the entire state
selected to participate in the
national competition.
“It’s been a long journey and
she has worked extremely hard,”
Brielle’s mother Connie said.
“This is what she loves to do and
I’m very proud of her.”
Connie credits much of
Brielle’s success to the many
number of inclusive activities
that she has been able to
participate in over the years.
When Brielle joined the
Perfect Balance Training Center
three years ago, it was the first
local gymnastics center to offer
inclusion on a typical team.
And at Porter Ridge Middle,
Brielle had the opportunity to
join a number of extracurricular
activities including cheerleading
and musical theatre.
These inclusive experiences
were critical for the middle
school student who craved
opportunities to participate in
activities alongside her peers
and helped foster her love for
sports. In fact, if you ask Brielle
what she enjoys most, she can’t
even decide.
“I love everything! I love
gymnastics and cheerleading, and
I work really hard and practice at
it every day,” she said.
Porter Ridge Middle Principal
Dr. Brian Patience said that Brielle
joining these types of inclusive
activities not only positively impacted
Brielle and her peers, but also helped
foster a school wide environment
that emphasizes the importance of
diversity, respect, acceptance and
tolerance.
“Brielle always looks for a role
model so the typical older kids
serve as that role model, and they
challenge her,” Connie said, adding
that Brielle’s peers have accepted,
loved and positively challenged her in
a number of ways. “If you put her on
a track team and tell her to run, she
won’t do well. But if you put her beside
someone and tell her it’s a competition,
she’ll beat them. She’s very, very
competitive.”
That competitive spirit served her
well at Special Olympics USA, where
Brielle walked away earning first place
in floor exercise and second place in
vaulting, uneven bars and beam and
all-around events.
“Now that she’s older, I want her to
understand that all of her hard work
was for this kind of recognition for
her,” Connie said. “Brielle really enjoys
what she does and she has loved being
included in different types of activities
over the years. I know that as long as
there is a place for her, she’ll continue
to do great things in the future.”
Parent Teacher Magazine • Sept/Oct 2018 • 11