Mingyi Wang volunteered as a delegation liaison for Team Singapore at the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles.
Story by: Mingyi Wang —
Sometimes a setback can lead to something special that wouldn’t have been otherwise possible. I had just graduated from USC last May when I started working for PwC, an accounting firm in Downtown Los Angeles. As a citizen of China, I needed to obtain a work visa to continue there. When I was not selected for one, I had to leave the firm after just a few weeks.
Suddenly, my summer was completely open. I learned about the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games, which would be held in Los Angeles from July 25 to August 2. The organizing committee for the games – LA2015 – was still looking for a Mandarin-speaking volunteer. I applied and became one of the two delegation liaisons for Team Singapore.
My job as a delegation liaison was to accompany Team Singapore – 24 hours a day, seven days a week – and help them to communicate with the organizing committee. It was not an easy job. Due to the tremendous scale of the Games, the committee was not able to plan for or manage all the aspects of each delegation’s stay in LA. So the delegation liaisons had to not only translate, but also figure out game and transportation schedules, send delegates to where they should be, and sometimes even reduce tension between delegates and the committee.
As I spent more time with the delegates and got to know them personally, I realized that what I was receiving was far more significant than what I was giving. Dr. Teo-Koh Sock Miang, president from the Special Olympics Singapore, told me she loved seeing how the athletes remained happy and positive-minded, even after losses.
“Life is not simple but you can hold a simple attitude toward anything,” Dr. Sock said. “And this is what the athletes taught me and why I love to be with them.”
I also spoke with Linda Prebhash, the leader of the Singapore delegation, about the importance of sports.
“Even if you lose, you need to get up and move on,” Ms. Prebhash explained.
I saw this firsthand as I spent time with the athletes. Losses couldn’t even narrow the smiles on their faces. They were cheerful, loving and supportive to their teammates. Their spirits were so contagious that I forgot about my work visa situation. And when I remembered it, I knew I could overcome it, following the great examples of all the athletes.
At one of the track competitions, I sat next to a family that had driven three hours from home just to watch the competitions. I asked the mother why she had brought her kids here. She told me they kept coming back because they loved feeling the athletes’ positive energy.
The theme song for the World Games was Siedah Garrett’s “Reach Up L.A.” It was about how Special Olympics athletes “reach up” to maximize their potential. I believe that I, too, reached up. Volunteering at these wonderful Games challenged me in countless new ways and made me a better person.
Mingyi is from Shanghai, China, and is a graduate of the USC Marshall School of Business, Class of 2015. She is now studying international trade and commerce through UCLA Extension.