Superpower...

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“I wouldn’t say, ‘I wish it wasn’t like this,’” Adam said. “I get stressed out easily and my social cues are a little off but I can’t help but work on it.”

Alongside medication, Christine and Scott were fully present to help Adam navigate his emotions, and after tantrums and anger episodes, Adam’s parents made sure he knew he was still loved and they would always be there for her.

“My mom would always say ‘forgive,’” Adam said. “I can’t ever pay back my mom for how much she’s taken from me. Physically and emotionally.”

Scott said Adam’s outbursts did not change his love and admiration for his son and he and his wife tried to teach Adam how to express himself correctly.

“Adam is the male version of Christine,” Scott said. “He loves people with all his heart, he cares so much about people.”

Outside of his personal battles, Adam dealt with bullying at school, where kids broke his hand, pushed him in the shower after PE and called him different names.

Emma Engel, Adam’s oldest sister, has protected her brother since he was little and was by his side during his breakdowns and breakthroughs. Emma said she didn’t understand the reality of the situation as a kid, but her parents brought constant awareness on the matter by using different resources to help Emma understand.

“We would get books about autism and mail them out to other people, like cousins and uncles,” Emma said.

At school, Adam had to defend himself against people who thought his condition was funny, and at home, everyone tried to help him understand that those people did not define him. Scott said his wife’s approach was to forgive the mean people and be the bigger person, but for him, as a dad, it was harder to forget. Scott said he did not get upset when his son would stand up for himself and when he wasn’t afraid to address a situation.

“If I had a different set of parents, I would probably be in jail right now,” Adam said.

“I didn’t have many true friends in high school. I always thought all you need is a small circle of people you trust.”

That is what Adam found when he moved to Oklahoma State University.

Scott and Christine encouraged their kids to follow their passion, and they did not hesitate when Adam, since a young age, demonstrated an interest in sports. Christine was interested in the sports world, and the family subscribed to daily newspapers that were delivered to their house.

At 9, Engel used the piano chair at his house as a desk and, without a scrip or professional guidance, he started announcing a game between the Denver Broncos against Kansas City.

“I would wake up in the morning, go to my seat at the table and my dad would put a copy of the Casper Star-Tribune on my plate,” Engel said. “My parents always encouraged me, they are voracious newspaper readers.”

Before his mom’s passing, Adam spent one year at Gillette College, where his dad was a psychology professor, but he wanted to pursue his dream of working with a high-quality media team. Christine, who’s always been a sports fan, said she would visit Adam in Stillwater all the time and looked forward to watching her son wear orange. Adam did not hesitate in moving to Stillwater in the fall of 2020 and said there wouldn’t be a better tribute to his mother other than following his heart and being happy.

After he arrived at OSU, Adam became a leading figure in the Paul Miller Journalism Building. He first got involved with The O’Colly TV because his initial plans involved being a sports announcer. Scott said he was shocked when Adam decided to leave announcing on the side and focus on writing.

“I ran into one of his high school teachers and told her he was switching focus to writing,” Scott said. “She couldn’t believe it because he hated writing and announcing was his thing. But I told her he is really good at it.”

After understanding his passion, Adam dived deep into OSU’s newspaper, The O’Colly. There, he said he felt comfortable writing, talking about, covering and thinking about all kinds of sports. He took it as a mission to cover not only popular sports, such as football and basketball but the sports he thought needed more attention, such as cross country and golf. Adam became close with OSU’s wrestling head coach John Smith, and he also gained attention from Mike Gundy, OSU’s football head coach, who told him he understood Adam’s stutter but he would always be patient and make sure to answer his questions.

“Every kid with autism has one specific thing they are obsessed with,” Adam said. “Mine is sports.”

Adam went from a staff reporter to the paper’s editorin-chief and said throughout his time at The O’Colly he not only grew professionally but he also grew as an individual. Adam said the progress has been visible because when he first started, he would throw the chairs in the newsroom as a sign of frustration. By the time he graduated, he could communicate with his coworkers about his overwhelming feelings and walk away from situations. As a leader, Adam coordinated and oversaw several copies of the paper, guided incoming freshmen and helped them fit in, and built a friend group, who he said, has accepted him for the way he is.

“Hanging out with my O’Colly friends has been one of my favorite memories at OSU,” Adam said. “I was welcomed in by amazing people from Oklahoma.”

Adam lived at OSU’s residential halls throughout his time in college, and that’s where he made a friend who did not have any connections to The O’Colly or sports, and she changed his time here.

Adam said when he met Kirsten Hollansworth, a second-year graduate student learning about agricultural communications, he felt safe because she understood him.

“I love Adam for who he is,” Hollansworth said. “But I also try to challenge him and make him a better person. He will say I remind him of his mom because of the advices I give him such as not burning bridges and controlling his reactions to people.”

Adam said he wishes she could meet his mom but the Hollansworth met Adam’s family on the weekend of his graduation. Hollansworth said she is proud of Adam’s work as the editor-in-chief and will miss all the small moments with her friend, such as football games, dinners and hangouts.

Adam graduated from OSU on May 13 and is continuing his career in Idaho, where he is the sports editor for the Time-News in Twin Falls.

On the day of his graduation, after a summer storm, Adam and his family were eager to leave the restaurant they were having dinner at and go outside to search for a rainbow.

Before Christine’s passing, she told her family every time they looked at rainbows, they should know it was her looking down on them.

That day, Christine was there. They all knew it. Adam knew it. His mom wouldn’t miss out on this milestone.

Adam said he will continue to pursue his passion while learning even more about accepting who he is and taking on his mother’s legacy with him. For other kids with autism, Adam has some advice.

“Embrace it,” Adam said. “You should embrace it like a superpower. Be different and be proud of that. It’s tough, but it’s worth it.” news.ed@ocolly.com