My Journey as a Special Olympics Athlete Carter Sanders

Hello. My name is Carter Sanders. I am a part time office assistant at Easter Seals Academy, a school for children with autism. I actually used to be a student there almost 25 years ago. I got the opportunity to work there through their post-secondary program. My everyday duties are answering phones, filing student documents, passing out things to classrooms, and assisting the office manager with various projects. Last year, I was chosen to be Easter Seals’ ComEd Energy Force ambassador. My duty as the ComEd ambassador for Easter Seals is to spread the word to the community on the importance of clean energy. Some of the things I’ve done are writing newsletters on solar energy, creating fliers containing energy saving tips for the winter, being a guest on podcasts hosted by other Energy Force ambassadors, and doing in person events at Chicago hotspots like Navy Pier and Brookfield Zoo.

Prior to coming to Easter Seals, I was often misunderstood by my peers at my previous school. I had difficulty staying on task and was often disorganized with my schoolwork. For most of my

childhood, I had a fear of the sound of school fire alarms, making my school experience very difficult. Some of my classmates actually teased me about my phobia by imitating the sound of the fire alarm. One time, the bus driver said that they may have to send me to the nuthouse. Now that I’m much older, this didn’t seem to be a very inclusive environment. Upon getting enrolled in Easter Seals, I have never seen an environment more inclusive as this organization. Instead of using a fire alarm for fire drills, fire drills are in the form of a prerecorded bell. I then learned that fire alarm sensitivity is common for those on the autism spectrum so it turns out I’m not the only one bothered by that sound.

My current struggles with autism pertain to me worrying about things I have no control over such as conflicts between people I know. I have witnessed several conflicts with different people and at times the situation becomes very upsetting to me. My mom often tells me not to worry about it as it isn’t worth me getting upset about.

I take public transportation on a regular basis as a way to get around. There have been a few instances where teenagers have said things to me that are considered insulting and at times derogatory and other vulgar remarks. That shows that I have encountered people who are potentially insensitive to the disability community. Other than that, I am able to travel without a hitch for the most part.

I received my Bachelor’s degree in computer science from Chicago State University. My computer science job search led me to a web design internship at a digital marketing agency. My internship lasted from January 2021 to December 2021. Even though my internship has ended, I strongly feel that I have gained experience to obtain permanent employment in the computer science field. I have gained experience in C++, Java, SQL, HTML/CSS, JavaScript, and UNIX (Bourne Again Shell). My dream job is to become a web developer or software/app developer. Chicago State University has a disability access center that provided accommodations such as extra time on tests. I was able to take advantage of those resources. Even though I’ve been out of school for a while, I’m thinking of eventually going back to get my Master’s in Computer Science, whether at Chicago State or at another school.

I am a Special Olympics athlete at a park five minutes from my house. I participate in track and field, swimming, bocce ball, snowshoeing, golf, bowling, and many of the team sports. I have won gold medals in the aforementioned sports and qualified for overnight state competitions on numerous occasions. Last winter I did the Polar Plunge with Lori Lightfoot, the mayor of Chicago.

I started participating in Special Olympics when I was 15 years old with Easter Seals and continued competing as a part time employee along with the adult program clients and the students. When the adult program closed in January 2018 due to Illinois state budget issues, I ended up trying to find a park district that offers Special Olympics. That’s where I found Marquette Park which offers Special Olympics - and the rest is history. Even if I find a full time computer science job, I plan on remaining with Marquette Park as a Special Olympics athlete. In fact, I intend on competing for Special Olympics for a very long time. I will NEVER retire from Special Olympics.

A combination of the friendships that I have retained at Easter Seals, my several years of attending college, and my involvement in Special Olympics have greatly helped me grow socially.