A MESSAGE FROM Kelly's running 26.2 miles for NYDI!
Can you imagine being involved with a singular organization for almost 3/4 of your life?! I can, because I have been!
The Destination Imagination global community is united by a core belief that when students have the freedom to grow and collaborate without boundaries, their confidence explodes and the world opens up to them in new ways. DI enables this transformation by providing challenges rooted in STEAM subjects that inspire unique solutions through the use of the creative process.
I first joined Destination Imagination as a participant in 2001 and competed on and off until I graduated high school in 2012. Anyone who knew me back then can tell you that I was shy and socially anxious. But the one place I found confidence and some of my best friends? DI. I actually looked forward to spending every second of my free time writing scripts, building breakaway walls, figuring out how to make a tree out of poster board and spray foam insulation, trying and failing to build a bubble machine, and harassing our fabulous Team Manager AKA my sister. DI gave me a place to be me.
Even though I am now way too old to participate, I've returned to DI every single year as a volunteer, doing things from appraising challenges to Challenge Master-ing and even writing team challenges that are used around the globe.
And even now, every time I encounter a problem, I see it as an Instant Challenge. My thought isn't, "wow, this sucks"; my thought is, "what solution can I find to fix this?"
I can't imagine life without DI, and I can't imagine other kids not having this opportunity. Please support my fundraising efforts for the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon Fundraising. All donations go towards Destination Imagination of New York, and no donation is too small!
Thanks for your support - see you next TIME!
Photos & Videos
