{"id":183115,"date":"2024-07-15T08:53:25","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T12:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/?p=183115"},"modified":"2024-07-15T08:53:25","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T12:53:25","slug":"smithfield-high-school-a-story-of-mission-expansion-and-new-friendships-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/vadc\/meet-naia","title":{"rendered":"Meet Naia!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\">[vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/6&#8243;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;183117&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]Best Buddies Virginia and DC would like to give a warm welcome to one of our newest State Ambassadors, Naia Grace F!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>About Naia:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Naia Grace got started with Best Buddies at the University of Virginia, located in her hometown of Charlottesville, VA. She graduated from Charlottesville High School in 2017 with a standard diploma and was crowned homecoming queen! Naia\u2019s favorite hobbies include taking hikes with friends and family, food photography, swimming, reading, and playing with Groovy Girls. Naia\u2019s current favorite television shows include The Hunger Games, Master Chef, and WWE. Naia recently moved from Charlottesville to the DC\/NOVA area. She is looking forward to taking on this new leadership role and getting further involved with Best Buddies programs.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_183116\" style=\"width: 1210px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-183116\" class=\"size-full wp-image-183116\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/2024-BBVADC-Meet-Naia-at-Ambassador-Training.webp\" alt=\"Meet Naia at Ambassador Training\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/2024-BBVADC-Meet-Naia-at-Ambassador-Training.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/2024-BBVADC-Meet-Naia-at-Ambassador-Training-1024x538.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/2024-BBVADC-Meet-Naia-at-Ambassador-Training-150x79.webp 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-183116\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Naia attending her first Ambassador training at Deloitte\u2019s annual Impact Day.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>What change do you want to make in your community as a Virginia and DC Best Buddies ambassador?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy getting more people involved in Best Buddies, I would like to change Best Buddies for the better. I want to change how people see adults and children with disabilities because we can do things that other people can do. I want people to see what we\u2019re capable of even though we have disabilities and how we do things differently than other people as well.\u201d \u2013 Naia F.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>About Ambassadors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Best Buddies Ambassadors gives people with and without IDD the opportunity to gain the public speaking skills, self-esteem and confidence needed to successfully advocate for themselves, their peers and Best Buddies in communities, workplaces, and government. The program aims to educate and empower generations of leaders, public speakers, and advocates for inclusion.<\/p>\n<p>Virginia and DC ambassadors are agents of change and advocates in our local community. They hone their skills though attending leadership and professional development trainings every other month. Virgina and DC ambassadors are constantly called upon to speak at community and corporate events to spread awareness and the Best Buddies mission of inclusion.<\/p>\n<p>Please contact <a href=\"mailto:ClairePascocello@bestbuddies.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ClairePascocello@bestbuddies.org<\/a> if you would like to learn more about the Ambassadors program.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/6&#8243;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>She&#8217;s ready to show the world what people with disabilities can do!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2080,"featured_media":183117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"vadc-single-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[504,505],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-183115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-capital-region","category-capital-region-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Meet Naia! 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