#50for50: Volume 8
▪️ Diamonte Anderson
▪️ 24 years old
▪️ Beaver County

“I’m from Beaver County Special Olympics and I play soccer. I’ve been playing for a few years. I got involved through school. It makes me feel happy, healthy. It keeps me in good shape. It got me into weight lifting too, to stay healthy and to stay fit. I just lift weights to stay fit, but I’m thinking about [competing in] powerlifting. Probably next Fall I should do it because I’ll be 25. I’m a man. I can do it. … I want to be a male model. That’s why I like taking pictures. I want to send them to a modeling agency. I’m very social and friendly. … My favorite part is hanging out with friends and socializing. It’s like a big family. It’s a big friendship type of thing. It’s about being nice and being respectful. Sometimes, you might catch heat or some people might have an attitude, but just stay positive and you’ll be good. … I would tell people that [Special Olympics] is great for Autism, Down syndrome, Asperger syndrome — everybody’s different but we all can do it. If you want to try to do Special Olympics, go out, do it, have fun, have friends or family help you and you’ll be good. And be nice and be social.”