With his gentle demeanor and frequent, easygoing laugh, Adult Development Center student Troy Holt isn’t someone you might expect to be tough as nails on the basketball court. But a steely determination is what he took with him when he went to the Special Olympics in 2007.
Troy, 40, had excellent skills, played all the positions and could shoot the ball with the best of them. “It was really fun,” he says, laughing. “I was good.”
Since coming to EL ARCA in 1998, Troy has expanded his horizons both academically and personally. He works on the computer, draws, plays games and shows off his “back-and-forth” dance moves. He also tries to introduce himself to new participants and make them feel welcome at the place he says makes him “feel good.”
“EL ARCA helps me to be independent,” Troy explains, adding that he is learning to cook thanks to his newfound self-sufficiency. He has also taken up bowling and is considering heading back to the Special Olympics in 2015 – this time to bowl his way to Olympic glory once more.
- Troy Holt
Participant, ADC