Lexi Dibbern was awarded a plaque “In recognition of serving as a Special Olympics U.S. Youth Ambassador, 2020-2022.
Being a successful ambassador takes positivity, high-energy, friendliness and leadership skills. Lexi Dibben has all those characteristics and more.
Alexis (Lexi) Dibben has been a DES Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) member since she was a toddler, prior to which she was a member of the Arizona Early Intervention Program (AzEIP). Today, the Cortez High School senior is a Generation Unified U.S. Youth Ambassador for Arizona. The goal of Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools is to make “the world a more inclusive one for people with and without intellectual disabilities. We work together to ensure that everyone has the right to play, learn and live together.” Lexi was encouraged by her friend, Rachelle, and teacher, Mr. Dan, to become involved with this Special Olympics program, and Lexi has much to show for her efforts.
Accompanied by her mother, Laurie, and Mr. Dan, Lexi addressed members of the Arizona State Legislature to advocate for the Special Olympics. “We need a lot of money [for the State] to be able to get schools into Special Olympics [United Champion status *],” explained Lexi. Her focus was on a bill that would enable Special Olympics to be available to all school districts statewide.
Awarded by ESPN and Special Olympics, a beautiful Executive Unified Challenge Champion trophy was given to Lexi Dibbern at the U.S. Special Olympics held in Orlando in 2022.
“Every month they [Generation Unified Ambassadors] have to do Vlogs on some type of topic and they [attend] weekly [online] meetings,” said Laurie. Participants “from all over the world get on it. It’s really cool!”
Recently, Ambassador Lexi attended the USA Special Olympic games in Orlando, Florida, where she helped staff the organization’s Fan Zone booth, selling sunglasses, hats and other Special Olympics merchandise. The organization provided “all sorts of stuff,” including shuttle services. "They provided shuttles for us to get to places because normally we can’t get to those places without a shuttle,” said Lexi.
A Special Olympian herself, over the years Lexi has dabbled in basketball, floor hockey, soccer, track & field, and badminton. This year, she left Orlando as the 2022 Champion of the ESPN/Special Olympics Executive Unified Challenge. This was for an obstacle course she ran in partnership with a corporate senior executive.
Back home, she’s resumed her DDD services -- which include occupational therapy, music therapy, habilitation, respite, and attendant care – and preparing for her senior year at high school. Starting on August 8, her class schedule will include robotics, theater, art, literacy and some “community-based” programs. “[The students] go out in the community once a week,” explained Laurie. “They go to Walmart to buy stuff for their store at school and go out to eat. They’re supposed to take their own money and count their change to make sure everything’s cool, and order for themselves.”
As a Unified Generation Ambassador, Lexi encourages others to: “Be yourself. Be who you want to be. Don’t let others bully you. Make sure that you are the best YOU that you could be.”
“I would inspire [others] to make good choices instead of the wrong ones. The Unified Generation is a big part of their community and should all be shared in one big hug.”
Lexi Dibbern and her friend, Rachelle, star in a video blog promoting the Unified Generation and “Four Tips for Living in the Moment” to help combat stress. This episode is part of a series of Unified Talks, featuring U.S. Youth Ambassadors.
“Unified Talks are for the Unified Generation by the Unified Generation. Hosted by youth leaders from all across the country, each video discusses a theme that is at the core of Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools®. Learn from your peers through different activities and calls to action. Explore the Unified Classroom today.” https://www.generationunified.org/
unified-classroom/
1 Cortex High School is a Special Olympics United Champion School. This means that the school “intentionally promotes meaningful social inclusion by bringing together young people with and without intellectual disabilities to lead in the creation of accepting school environments.” This strategy includes three key components: Special Olympics Unified Sports(R), inclusive youth leadership, and whole-school engagement. [Source: https://www.generationunified.org/about/ ]