This week was full of emotions and inspirational moments. First, at the beginning of the week, I volunteered at the Invictus Games. This event is geared towards using sports as a method of recovery, to support rehabilitation and to spread awareness in order to give compassion, support and respect for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women. I was assisting with registration of all of the participants in the power lifting area and I was also assisting the score man with writing down the weights that each participant would lift. It was a very motivating and exciting to take part at the event especially during the opening ceremony because I got to listen to many inspirational speeches that touched our hearts from many retired and on duty injured and wounded military men and women. It was a very humbling experience to see this men and women thrive and walk towards the path to recovery with such energy, drive and optimism that characterizes them. It was very inspirational to hear their stories and to see that even though they’ve been through such rough situations putting their lives on the line to serve and protect their country, they’ve managed to move forward using sports as a method of recovery and inner healing. One person that touched every spectator was Israel del Toro. He is an active serviceman who suffered burns due to an attack during his deployment in about 85% of his body. He almost died in the process but he managed to fight for his life and to give his all to recover with the help of his family and the people around him. I also got to see Prince Harry, The First Lady Michelle Obama and George W. Bush who were there showing their support to military men and women from not only the US but from 14 other countries around the world too. I am very proud to have taken part in this event.
Another great thing that happened mid week was that I was able to receive my grades for my Advance Hospitality Management and Human Resources classes. I received my certificate of completion and I was very satisfied with my grade because it showed that all of my efforts paid off in the end to I am very proud of that. It was not easy to complete this semester but through it all, I managed to pull it together and complete my classes and get a satisfying grade on both.
Last but not least, I graduated and celebrated the completion of my program as well. I also received a Ducktorate degree certificate stating that I had successfully completed my program. It is very rewarding to accomplish my achievements and to look back and see how far I’ve come. This journey has changed me and I have no regrets to have made the decision to take this opportunity and experience something different that will no only benefit my career but that has been very rewarding on a personal level as well.
