{"id":174098,"date":"2023-08-16T09:15:39","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T13:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/?p=174098"},"modified":"2024-09-23T11:12:00","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T15:12:00","slug":"inspiring-young-leaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/california\/inspiring-young-leaders","title":{"rendered":"Inspiring Young Leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”174099″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_empty_space height=”50px”][vc_column_text]As a neurodivergent person with Autism who is also considered 2e or twice exceptional, my social and academic journey has not been easy. From kindergarten up until high school enrollment, I had always struggled with and tried to hide my diagnosis. Like so many young people during the pandemic, I searched online for an organization that I could connect with and longed to find others that understood me. That\u2019s when I found Best Buddies. Over a three-day process, I was matched with a coach to write and present a speech about myself. After my presentation I knew I had found a place where it was more than just okay to be different, it was embraced. Once I completed a series of trainings I began my role as an Ambassador, a position that promotes and helps educate others about the philosophy, mission, and benefits of Best Buddies through public speaking.<\/p>\n

When I began my freshman year in high school with a newly identified learning disability, I did not realize the importance of self-advocacy or inclusion when it came to my education. Around the same time that year, I became a Best Buddies California State Ambassador after completing another series of trainings. As part of my Ambassador role, I lead trainings for future Ambassadors on how to advocate for diversity and inclusion in their communities, schools, and workplaces. Meanwhile at school, I had been given testing accommodations to support my learning differences, but this would require me to leave the classroom for every test or quiz. The last thing I wanted was to stand out when all I wanted to do was blend in. Despite all I\u2019d learned as a Best Buddies Ambassador, I still struggled with advocating for myself. I chose to pretend that I was just like my peers, oftentimes struggling in class, until it all became too much for me and I realized I needed help. Had it not been for Best Buddies, I might never have discovered that self-advocacy in education is crucial to achieving academic success.<\/p>\n

Now, I am open about my learning disabilities at school so teachers can help future students. Within my role with Best Buddies YLC, I write monthly newsletters focusing on neurodiversity, education, and inclusion from my perspective as a neurodivergent high school student. In just a few weeks I will be a rising junior. While this year will not be easy socially or academically, Best Buddies has taught me to self-advocate, not be afraid to take risks, and believe in myself no matter the challenge.<\/p>\n

-Benjamin Haworth, Best Buddies State Ambassador<\/p>\n

Best Buddies Ambassadors is a program that provides training for participants with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities in areas of speech writing, public speaking, and self-advocacy. Click here to learn about attending and hosting Ambassadors trainings<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Best Buddies taught me to believe in myself no matter what.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2080,"featured_media":174099,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"ca-single-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-174098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-california-news"],"yoast_head":"\nInspiring Young Leaders - Best Buddies International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/california\/inspiring-young-leaders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Inspiring Young Leaders - Best Buddies International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Best Buddies taught me to believe in myself no matter what.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/california\/inspiring-young-leaders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Best Buddies International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-16T13:15:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-23T15:12:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2023-BBCA-Bens-Corner.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"leemosler\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"leemosler\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/california\/inspiring-young-leaders\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/california\/inspiring-young-leaders\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"leemosler\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/#\/schema\/person\/e016e3c8c2cd3b7e04adf72b23efb560\"},\"headline\":\"Inspiring Young Leaders\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-16T13:15:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-23T15:12:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/california\/inspiring-young-leaders\/\"},\"wordCount\":504,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/california\/inspiring-young-leaders\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2023-BBCA-Bens-Corner.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"California News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/california\/inspiring-young-leaders\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/california\/inspiring-young-leaders\/\",\"name\":\"Inspiring Young Leaders - 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