I have been very busy at work and enjoying my job very much. I still take the Metro to work every morning and afternoon by myself. Sometimes I get frustrated when the train is late because I like to always be on time, but it is a good thing that it is not late too much.
I don’t like it when the weather is bad and icy in the winter because I get nervous I am going to fall walking from the station to my office building. Last week there was a lot of ice and I was having trouble walking to my office and going down some stairs. I have to tell you there were two very nice people who helped me out a lot. I was scared I was going to fall and holding on to some stair rails and a nice lady asked me if I needed help. She helped me hold on to her and get me down the stairs. Then a nice man asked if he could help me too and helped me in another icy place. They were so nice and I told them thank you so much! I am so glad that they were there to help me even though they didn’t know me.
On October 22nd I had an amazing day at the Best Buddies Challenge in Washington, D.C. I had so much fun! 
I had the opportunity to meet Lauren Potter who stars on the T.V. show Glee!!!
At the Challenge, I wore the Rosetta Stone yellow jackets with my colleagues from work. I also did the whole 5K walk with my Rosetta Stone teammates. Jay Topper from Rosetta Stone was the biggest fundraiser for the whole Challenge and he got a bike as a prize.
When the Best Buddies Challenge ended there was a celebration and there was a live concert by Kool and the Gang. They played great music.
I was even slow dancing with Anthony Shriver and that was really important to me and it was really cool and that was the best!
I can’t believe that summer is gone. I had a great summer. I went on a cruise with some relatives to Bermuda from Baltimore and it was so much fun. Work has been good. I have a new supervisor and she is so nice. I have a lot of responsibilities like making sure all of the kitchens and conference rooms are stocked and organized. I do other reception jobs too. Now I spend most of my time at the main office at Rosetta Stone. Last week I went on a great trip with my colleagues to Harrisonburg where the company has an office. I love working and I really love my weekends.
I have been working hard and learning new skills. I really love my job and have good experiences.
I was very excited because Rosetta Stone had a celebration on a boat called the Odyssey. We had a cruise on the Potomac River for a couple of hours and I had so much fun. I met a lot of great people that work for Rosetta Stone on the boat. I had an opportunity to do karaoke with some of my coworkers and it was great. I had a blast. I also did some dancing on the dance floor. It was a great afternoon with my coworkers celebrating working for a fantastic company.
Yesterday, Friday February 25th , my Best Buddies friends Jan Rivas and Sarah Pierson came to Rosetta Stone to have lunch with me on my lunch break. I was so excited that Jan and Sarah had the opportunity to come and visit me at the Rosetta Stone Office. Jan and Sarah picked up Thai food for me so I ask for Pad Thai. I have to make sure I always ask for no sauce so that it is gluten free. Jan and Sarah also ordered their own food too.
During my lunch break I had a great conversation with Jan and Sarah about transportation and taking the metro train to Franconia Springfield. I also mentioned I am trying really hard to be independent and taking the metro train on my own. I have to have a companion with me when I am doing travel training. I am not ready to take the metro train by myself but I can take the Metro Access Taxi cab on my own.
On Monday February 14th I was getting ready to start work in the morning. There was a delivery and it was a package for me. When I opened the package, there were beautiful flowers in a vase. They were beautiful red and pink flowers and they smelled like roses to me. I was so excited and really happy that I was getting flowers from my Mom and Dad. When I was about to put the water in the vase I noticed there was a card. It said “To Erin Thompson from my Mom and Dad. We are so proud of you and all the things you accomplished. You are a hard worker. We love you Mom, Dad, Andrew, and Patrick.”
On Thursday morning February 11th and Friday February 12th, I was preparing for Valentine’s Day on Monday February 14th. It was a big surprise for everyone in the Rosetta Stone Office that day. For each employee, I placed 1 small bag of Brach’s conversation hearts and five Hersey milk chocolate kisses in special bags. I made a least 40 bags. I delivered special bags to everyone in the Rosetta Stone office and said “Happy Valentine’s Day”. Valentine’s Day means a lot to me because love is really important and we celebrate people who love and care for us. Valentine’s Day is the best holiday ever because it’s all about love and really good Hersey milk chocolate:).
I am sorry that it has been so long since I updated everyone. I have been so busy and the best news of all is I HAVE A JOB! On January 18th I started working at Rosetta Stone in Arlington, Virginia and I really love it!
I have a full time job with full benefits and I work with so many nice and fantastic people. Every day I work from 8 to 5 and have one hour for lunch. I do a lot of important things.
My position is called the Office Coordinator. Some of the things that I do is answering the phones, administrative work like ordering supplies, scheduling conference rooms, greeting visitors, organizing conference rooms and many other office projects. I stay very busy and I am learning a lot of good skills. I take Metro Access to work and sometimes I get to the office super early. Last week I took the metro subway home with my job coach to get travel training. I think I will be doing it by myself pretty soon.
I was honored to be invited to represent Best Buddies at the reception at Vice President Joe Biden and Mrs. Biden’s home to kick off the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Challenge. It was on October 22nd. When I was there I met so many great people. When the Vice President was getting ready to make his speech I was up near the front of the podium and I was going to move away. Then he asked me to stay up there! So I stood next to the Vice President the whole time he gave his very moving speech.
He talked about how important Eunice Kennedy Shriver was to the world and how much courage she had. He said that all people have been changed by her work and that she made everyone aware that people with intellectual disabilities deserve respect. He said he was a friend of the Kennedy and Shriver families for a long time and he was very proud of the difference in the world they made. It was a really wonderful speech.
That night I got to meet people like Michelle Kwan and Mayor Fenty and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis. I even got to see the helicopter bring the Bidens to their home! I wrote a note to Vice President Biden to thank him for inviting me to his home. It was a really amazing experience, one of the best this year!
In late September in Washington D.C. I had a big honor to interview Anthony K. Shriver for Coded Generations. The interview was filmed and I can’t wait to see it. Mr. Shriver is the Founder and Chairman of Best Buddies International. When Mr. Shriver was in college he started Best Buddies because he wanted people with intellectual disabilities to have one to one friendships with people who didn’t have disabilities. It is a great organization and when I was in college I got to be a Best Buddies Ambassador for Virginia.
I was the interviewer asking all the questions. I asked questions about future goals for Best Buddies and Mr. Shriver’s advice for me and for others with intellectual disabilities in finding careers. He was so nice and generous with his advice and time. He took a lot of time answering my questions. I liked getting to ask the questions and not having to answer questions!
Recent Comments