Participant Spotlight: Louis

Meet longtime GiGi’s NYC participant, Louis! He is charming, funny, and really knows how to rock out at our karaoke events! GiGi’s NYC is fortunate to have an amazing participant such as Louis as part of our community. Read below to learn more about him:

  • When did you join the GiGi’s NYC community? I’m not quite sure when, but I was a baby! Maybe I forgot those memories, but I do remember my tutor, Benny, who taught me how to read. 
  • How old are you? I am 14. 
  • What GiGi’s NYC programs do you attend? I attended summer programs this past summer. I thought it was going to be like a sleep-over, but it was during the day. First of all, the puppet museum was my greatest fear, because it’s so creepy how they look at me, like they’re alive, but I did like the METS game, and the famous Apollo Theater! I also loved the mini golf. Another time I went to the Barclay’s Center with the GiGi’s NYC group to see a Brooklyn NETS  vs. New Orleans Pelicans game. Also, I’ve been to Karaoke at GiGi’s Playhouse NYC, and sang rock and roll. 
  • How did you find out about GiGi’s NYC? There are different kinds of people that have disabilities, and people who have Down syndrome have their own organization of who they are. GiGi’s Playhouse NYC is a place where we have fun and we support each other, even if we have different strengths. 
  • What does GiGi’s NYC mean to you? It’s a place to learn and have fun. I was surprised and curious to find out that my mom was the president of GiGi’s Playhouse NYC in 2012!  Now Troy’s mom and Malik’s mom are Co-Presidents. 
  • How do you enjoy spending your free time? Free time is when people are free to choose their own paths. In my free time on most days, I like to practice basketball, like famous players did when they started out, like Kevin Durant, Stephan Curry, Bill Russell and Michael Jordan. Usually every night me and my dad challenge each other to the challenging game of chess, and I like to sing Rock ’n’ Roll! 
  • What achievements can you connect to skills you have learned at GiGi’s NYC? In the beginning, Benny helped me learn to read and write things like my name, and now my job at the Imagine Society Newsletter is to write essays every month. Danielle is the editor and she is the one who creates the inspirational backgrounds, and she writes encouraging things to all the writers. 
  • What would you like to see from GiGi’s NYC in the future? More sports like judo and basketball clinics. I’d love to go to more sporting events like the Nets, Yankees and Mets. What about doing a basketball clinic at Barclay’s Center with the Nets?!!

 

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1 Comment

  1. David Curran on November 12, 2022 at 10:07 pm

    Great to hear about all the things you’ve been up to, Louis. Very pleased to see you have a sense of history and respect for the great basketball players of the past as well as the present, even if they happen to have played for the Celtics (who are awesome, by the way). That historical awareness is rare in people your age. It sounds as if you’re doing many awesome things these days. I wish I could’ve seen you when I visited your parents this summer. Next time, I guess. Any chance I can read some of those essays you’ve been writing?

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