What I Did This Summer: Meet Philip Blount
For many in the school community, summer means endless beach days, a vacation from school, hanging out with friends and family, but one of our FLIK Independent School Dining associates take their summer break to new heights! Meet Philip Blount, a member of the FISD family, who also participated in the Special Olympics this summer!
Check out this Q&A with Philip and hear all about his experience at the games:
Philip, tell us about your summer! We heard you did something pretty amazing!
Well, I had the most amazing summer of my life. I was chosen to represent North Carolina and USA in the Special Olympic World Games in Berlin, Germany. I competed in the 100m run, the 4x100m relay, and the standing shot put. I was able to bring home the gold in the standing shot put! I traveled with the USA team for about three week including visits to Bremer and Bremerhaven as host cities.
What was your favorite part about visiting Berlin and participating in the Special Olympic World Games?
My favorite part about visiting Berlin was touring around and seeing all the famous landmarks with my teammates and coaches. We saw the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall, the US Embassy, and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.
Opening Ceremonies was also awesome; being in the Olympiastadion, the same place Jesse Owens won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics with Hitler watching. To see all of the Special Olympic athletes from around the world, including the Ukraine, was absolutely amazing.
Are there any favorite foods you tried in Berlin that you want to share with the students back at Charlotte Christian School this school year?
My favorite foods I tried were the German pretzels and German sausages. The sausages were all delicious and different from our "hot dogs."
Have you always been an athlete? What made you interested in the shot put event?
Yes, I have always been an athlete and participated in the Special Olympics for 16 years! I was asked by the Special Olympic USA coaches if I would consider throwing the shot put since the team needed a thrower. I decided I wanted to help the team and thought I could learn something new. Who would have thought? I had great coaching all around with Coach Ralph Jones and Coach Chris Boykin. I worked hard with them both to get faster and stronger and to be trained with proper Olympic form.
The Special Olympics core values include teamwork, accountability, integrity, and respect. How do you implement those values at work?
Everyday, when I come to work I do my best. I try to help my coworkers and take responsibility for my job. I respect the students and teachers as I serve them lunch.
Thank you so much for your time! Is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers?
I really appreciate all of the support and love from the FLIK and Charlotte Christian School from the time I started working through my journey to the Special Olympics World Games. You are a big part of my community.
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