High School Graduation

High School Graduation
June 29, 2017

High school graduation was a real big day for me - I completed the 30 credits necessary to earn my Ontario High School Diploma - I also made the highest mark in my grade 12 World History course and was awarded the School Council award for being one of the most improved students.  The award came with a cheque for $300.  I worked very hard to achieve this milestone and proved that even though I was born without a cerebellum, it did not stop me from doing what all other students do - earn a high school diploma.

Swimming - May 2017

Swim Meet - May 2017
Walter Baker Pool - Nepean, Ontario

Taking part in the Special Olympics Swim meet at school has been something I've done since I was in grade 7.  In May 2017, I competed in my final race as a high school student and although it was much harder this year because I had not been taking regular swimming lessons I was very proud of my placing third in the 100m freestyle swim.  I swam for Sacred Heart High School.

Myers' Amazing Kid Award

Watch the video:

Luke Savoie - Myers' Amazing Kid Award

This was a very big surprise for me to receive this award.  I don't think of myself as special but I just do what I do because I don't really know any different.  Living with a disability can either get you down or it can make you stronger - for me - it has made me more determined to prove that I can do things that the doctors and others may have thought I was not capable of accomplishing.

Remembrance Day Monologue

November 11, 2016

I took drama in high school and in my final year, I was part of the Remembrance Day service that my drama class prepared.  I had a monologue where I was a soldier from WWI who now suffers from PTSD.  I was not nervous doing this because I practiced my part every day.

I was very proud of my performance because many thought I might never be able to memorize all the lines.

My Monologue:

Luke's monologue

(my mom recorded my monologue but ran out of memory before I completed the final sentence, but you can hear most of my speech.)

Scene 9:

Luke: My name is Dylan Romero, I was a canadian soldier during WW1. I now suffer from PTSD, and this is what I go through everyday.

No Wounds upon my body,

No scars that you can find,

Just hurt from wars fought long ago

implanted in my mind

No outward signs of injury,

No telltale signs of pain,

Only flashbacks and the nightmares

Time and Time again.

But all’s not lost for us old friend

(Other soldiers begin to join him)

There are those that understand

Just let them lead us through the darkness

Go with them hand in hand

All: Please don't forget us. In world war 1 there were over 38 million casualties.

Second Co-Op Plaement

School year 2016 - 2017

In grade 12, I continued to take part in the  CO-OP program at school.  By doing CO-OP I was able to earn credits towards my high school diploma.   I completed  a two-credit CO-OP in grade 11 and knew from my CO-OP experience I wanted to do more CO-OP placements.  I knew CO-OP would help me earn valuable experience that I could take to the work force when I graduated from high school..

I did not want to go back to the grocery store where I had my placement in Grade 11 but the options I had were very limited and I stressed to my teacher that I would like to work someplace where they sold video games and electronic equipment.  My  CO-OP teacher managed to get me an interview with Vhing at Best Buy in Kanata. I was really excited to go to this interview and was ready for any question that was asked.  I did the interview and was told I could start the next week.  I was so excited as this was going to be a dream CO-OP placement. - it WAS!  I now know that I want to work with electronics and video games in the future so this placement was the best place for me.

First Co-Op Placement

School year 2015-2016

In grade 11, I wanted to take the co-op program which I knew would help prepare me for the future.  I had an interview at our local grocery store and landed my co-op at Brown's.  In my job I stocked shelves and assisted customers.

When I completed my co-op placement at the grocery store, the manager gave me a beautiful gift basket filled with lots of goodies.

Grade 10 English Award

I always try to do my best and I was really surprised when I received the award for English in Grade 10.  The school had an award's ceremony where I was presented with my certificate,

Water Skiing - trying stand up skis

Summer -2015

During the summer of 2015, I became very confident on the sit ski and so I wanted to experience water skiing standing up on skis.  This was not as easy as I thought, but I gave it a good try and the volunteers with CADS were very patient with me.  My legs were strong enough to stand on the skis but with my balance I was not able to control the skis against the strength of the water.  But I gave it a good try and I am very proud of myself for trying.

See, I did it.  I was almost doing it on my own, but I have to admit this was one of the hardest things I tried, but I am proud to say I got up on the skis and managed to stay up for a bit.

My first part-time job

November 2014

My first job was working at MacDonald's.  I prepared my resume with the help from my mom and applied for the job at our local MacDonald's.  I was nervous when I went for the interview but my brother helped prepare me by putting me through a mock interview.  My brother worked at MacDonald's and knew what type of questions I would be asked.  I worked hard to make sure I was really prepared for the position and I got the job.

Before I could start I had to go through a training period where I had to do some on-line tests for WHIMS and safety in the work place.  I did not find this hard because we had practiced these tests in my career's course at school.

Water Skiing - using a sit ski

Summer 2014

I was not sure about going out on the water but I was able to use a sit ski and I got to be very good on the water.

On the water - water skiing

Baseball

Every summer I played baseball with the Challengers Division of Nepean Little League.  We had players with all abilities and I really liked playing with this group.  I gained confidence in my hitting and my running.  I started playing when I was 5 years old.

Catching and kicking a football

Co-ordination is one of the biggest issues for someone who has no cerebellum.  I practiced a great deal to get my timing just right so I could kick and catch a football.  I was never going to play the sport but I wanted to show that I could train my brain to react quick enough to catch a football that was thrown in the air - my hard work paid off when I finally was able to catch and kick a football.

Here I am kicking a football:

Here I am catching a football - sorry it is sideways.

Curling

I have always been one to try anything and curling was a sport that my mom loved and when I had an opportunity to try it out, I was excited.  I enjoyed the opportunity and I played it like, it was a video game.  I tried to knock my opponent's rocks out of the rings and I did.

This opportunity was given to me because I was part of the OCTC (Ottawa Children's Treatment Centre)