Special Olympics Youth of the Week: Danielle Albrecht and Hannah Jassman

The following post was written by Hannah Jassman on behalf of Danielle Albrecht and herself — together, Danielle and Hannah are a Special Olympics Unified pair from Special Olympics Minnesota. In July of 2018, Danielle and Hannah attended the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle, Washington to participate in the Youth Leadership Experience (YLE). Along with Unified pairs from across the country, Danielle and Hannah were chosen for the YLE because of their leadership skills and passion for inclusion. Congrats on being named the #SOYouthOfTheWeek!

Hi, my name is Hannah Jassman. This past summer, my friend Danielle Albrecht and I represented Special Olympics Minnesota at the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games Youth Leadership Experience in Seattle, Washington!

Danielle Albrect, Special Olympics Minnesota mentor Annie Emmanuel, Hannah Jassman, and Special Olympics New Jersey Unified Sports Director Kalee Iacoangeli at the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games.

Since I’ve been back from Seattle this summer, a lot of people have asked me the same question: “How was it?”. I always end up saying the same thing — “Really fun!” The reason I always say the same thing is because I had the best time of my life and honestly, unless you were also there and experienced it , I really don’t know how to explain it. It was amazing and unforgettable.

I especially loved the opportunity to volunteer at the Young Athletes Festival because working with Young Athletes is something that I love so much. Both Danielle and I help coach our Young Athlete Program in Monticello and love working with the YA participants! We have both coached since January of 2017. We run a full YA class with 15 Young Athletes.

Hannah participating at the Young Athletes festival, along with Special Olympics Oklahoma Unified pair Caleigh Parker and Athens White.

The Youth Leadership Experience and the Games itself are things I will never be able to repeat, even if I go to USA Games again. I know every time will be a different experience. I think one of the best parts about this whole experience is seeing how hard all of the athletes worked to participate and compete. I loved seeing smiles on people’s faces and the joy in their eyes. That was the best overall.

Learn more about what Hannah, Danielle, and many youth pairs across the country accomplished during the Youth Leadership Experience by clicking HERE.

Danielle and Hannah in front of the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games logo in Seattle!