Like many of us, Rosie likes to learn new skills and mix up her regular routine.  It keeps life fresh and interesting.  While learning a new skill may be challenging, it can be exhilarating too.  For Rosie – a participant at UCP Seguin of Greater Chicago – the sport of powerlifting has been one special skill she has passionately sought to master. With the help of her UCP Seguin support staff, she has built self-confidence and a sense of personal pride.   

Five years ago Rosie first witnessed the unique attraction of powerlifting when she attended a competition in which one of her friends was participating.  It was like nothing she’d ever seen before.  She was immediately fascinated with the skill, strength, and talent shown by the athletes.  Rosie learned the competitors’ names and enthusiastically cheered them on.  After that day in the gym, she inquired with UCP Seguin staff about joining the Bulldog Bootcamp & CrossFit Special Olympics Powerlifting team, coached by UCP Seguin Director of Clinical Services Erika Winston.  The response: a resounding “yes”, to which she exclaimed “I’m so happy I don’t know what to do!” 

Since adopting this sport as her own, Rosie has spent almost every Saturday at the Bulldog Bootcamp & CrossFit gym working to improve her form and strength.  She has mastered the back squat, deadlift, and bench press.  Rosie has won four regional Special Olympics competitions, and four gold medals at the Illinois State Special Olympics.  She hopes to continue her powerlifting dominance at this summer’s Special Olympics games.

Rosie has a tremendous sense of satisfaction in her achievements at the gym.  She loves measuring progress by comparing her lifts to those of other people she knows.  When she first started, she was lifting the same weights as nieces and nephews, but now she lifts more than what many of her same-aged friends and caregivers actually weigh!  Rosie also loves the sense of community that comes with belonging to a family-owned gym.  She checks in on the coaches when they miss a week, compares what she is doing to the other members, and wears her Bulldog shirts and sweatshirt with pride.

With the help of UCP Seguin and her coach Erika Winston, Rosie is living a “Life without Limits”.  Please join us by participating in “Raising the Bar for UCP Seguin” . . . and provide Rosie and other individuals with disabilities the opportunities to make dreams come true when you donate generously today!

United Cerebral Palsy Seguin of Greater Chicago believes that all people, regardless of ability, deserve to achieve their potential, advance their independence and act as full members of the community. So we stop at nothing to provide life skills training, assistive technology, meaningful employment and a place to call home for people with disabilities, as well as specialized foster care for children. Our goal: life without limits for people with disabilities.