Wednesday, September 12, 2007

BYU freshman year

Evan's schedule for his first semester of college:

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday

8:00-12:00	Work	Work	Work	Work	Work

12:00-1:00	Lunch		Lunch		Lunch

1:00-1:50	Physical		Physical		Physical
	Science		Science		Science

2:00-2:50		Pearl of		Pearl of
		Great Price		Great Price

3:00-3:50	Bill	Bill	Bill	Bill	Bill

4:00	Dinner	Drawing	Dinner	Drawing	Film Lab

5:00	D and C		Book of
			Mormon

Friday, May 18, 2007

HIGH SCHOOLS; Student-athlete is their teacher; Armstrong's Evan Wilson knows a thing or two about competition and victory, and shares his enthusiasm with his grateful teammates and coaches.(SPORTS)(John Millea)

Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

May 18, 2007 | Millea, John | Copyright. John Millea

Minneapolis (Minnesota) Armstrong’s Evan Wilson knows a thing or two about competition and victory, and shares his enthusiasm with his grateful teammates and coaches.

Almost every step of the way, Tim and LaRinda Wilson wondered if they were doing what was best for their son, Evan. Through preschool, grade school, middle school and high school, they wondered if mainstreaming was the best path for their child with Down syndrome.

Would he be teased? Would he be pushed around? Would anyone help him, keep an eye on him?

Now they know. Evan and 539 other seniors celebrated their graduation from Armstrong High School on June 7. That day brought memories, cheers and some tears, but they were tears of joy. And they were shed by lots of people – including coaches and Evan‘s fellow athletes – at the public school in Plymouth.

Armstrong wrestling coach Bill McCloskey had a hard time keeping his emotions in check as he spoke about what he and his wrestlers have learned from having Evan on the team for four years.

“It’s an incredible thing,” McCloskey said. “I’m trying not to tear up here, thinking about him and all the special things he’s brought to the program.”

The coach added: “You can always count on him for a smile, whether it’s his smile or him making you smile. As tough as things can be sometimes, he’s an inspiration all the time.”

Evan also played football and was on the track team. Oh yes, he’s an Eagle Scout, too. This spring he played adapted softball, which is a typical activity for special-needs students. He might be the most heavily recruited athlete at Armstrong, with coaches tugging at him to join their teams.

Dan Enna, an assistant football coach, also is the adapted softball coach. Knowing what kind of spirit Evan brings, he convinced him to play adapted softball this spring.

“He’s a great kid, he’s a great athlete, he really contributes and it’s a pleasure to have him on the team,” Enna said. “He’s always smiling, he’s always leading. He’ll say in the huddle, `C’mon guys!’ He’s just a fantastic kid.”

Alex Rubin, one of Evan‘s fellow senior athletes at Armstrong, was a first-team All-Metro basketball player who helped the Falcons to a runner-up finish in Class 4A. He has known Evan forever, going back to a kindergarten-age soccer team.

“He’s definitely a popular guy,” Rubin said. “Everyone loves him.

It doesn’t matter; girls, guys, they all love him. There’s no reason not to like him.”

Talk to anybody who knows Evan and they’ll tell you a great story. Tim, LaRinda and Evan sat in their family room and spoke about the time...

• When Evan was a new middle school student and the subject of teasing by another kid. One of Evan‘s friends – who just happened to be the biggest kid in school – told the offender, “You mess with Evan and you mess with me.”

• When a few high school kids walked behind Evan in the hallway and made fun of him, only to turn around and find some football players walking behind them with a clear message: Lay off our teammate.

• When Evan scored a touchdown – “I scored four or five touchdowns,” Evan corrected us – because coaches and players from both teams knew it was the right thing to do.

• When Evan received a wrestling trophy from the nice people at Andover, and a large framed poster with photos of Evan playing football from the nice people at Wayzata, and on and on.

“As a parent, you can only be grateful to have people from other schools reach out and make it great for everybody,” Tim Wilson said.

McCloskey said Evan was not only an athlete, but also a teacher.

“With Evan, it was never about winning and losing in terms of how we think of winning and losing,” he said. “For him, it was about how many points he scored. If he got beat 20-4, well, he scored four points. Every time he wrestled, it was a celebration. That was another lesson we learned from Evan; he sees victory in another way.”

Evan, 19, is the middle child of five. This fall he is off to Brigham Young University, living with his big brother, Brigham, who is a student there. Evan has a job lined up in the student union, he will audit some classes and volunteer in the BYU athletic department.
And once again, he’ll be the most popular guy in school.

John Millea is a sportswriter and columnist for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Reprinted with permission of the Star-Tribune.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Mother's Day

Evan has always respected and loved his mother. And so it is fitting to post his tribute this mother's day.

In Evan's Words the talk he gave

Happy Mother’s Day.

Being part of a family is a great blessing. You can

have happiness in a family. You can learn what is

right in a good place and you can prepare for eternal

life. You can have a good heart and have love in a

family. In a family you can together make plans for

where to work and to go to college.

You need to do your part to have a happy home.

Many problems happen in a family because people

are selfish and unkind. Be nice to members of your

family. Seek to bring peace in your family, don’t

tease, fight or quarrel.

Honor your parents by showing them love, respect

and by being obedient and true. Be willing to help in

the home with chores that need to be done,

homework and helping each other. Be with your

family in activities, family prayer, family home

evening and family scripture study. Set a good

example for other family members.

We need to love our brothers and sisters and our

moms and dads. They can become your

closest friends. Support them in their

activities and help them with what they are

doing.

I am about mother's day

ever good people Love mom

Heart feeling life for mother

Be true remember

Monday, March 5, 2007

BYU Bookstore

A great door-opener for Evan at BYU was his being able to get a job at the BYU bookstore in the Wilkinson Center his first semester at the Y. He did clean up and set up , basic manuel labor with a team of workers that allowed him to be on campus, contriubte, and be at the hub of activity. It was a wonderful start at the Y.

Getting the job was a result of multiple conversations with multiple people and interviewes and recommendations and prayers and massive effort by r?indy.

One interesting letter was a letter of recommendation to get the job by a dear friend.

Brigham Young University

BYU Bookstore – ELWC

Provo UT. 84604

Attn: Roger Reynolds

Dear Roger: 3/5/07

The purpose of this letter is to endorse Evan Wilson as a candidate for a position at the BYU Bookstore. I have known Evan most of his life, and have worked closely with him as his Bishop, Scoutmaster, Quorum Advisor, and basketball coach.

Evan is a good young man who has worked very hard in life to accomplish many things that haven’t come as easily for him as they might for some other kids. He has earned his Eagle Scout, Varsity Sports Letters, Duty to God, has served as my 1^st Assistant in our Priests Quorum, and he will soon graduate from both our Seminary program and from Armstrong High School. He has greatly enjoyed all of these programs. He loves, and is greatly loved by his fellow scouts and quorum members who are also his best friends. He has been blessed with a good family that has been very supportive and helpful to him as he’s participated in all the above.

Evan has had to overcome his own set of obstacles and challenges in life. While he may not be “the strongest or fastest”, he is the most reliable young man I know. He never misses an assignment, he’s always on time, and (remarkably) he remembers the exact dates and times of upcoming events, practices, tasks and assignments weeks and even months in advance of their arrival. I was able to witness the huge level of excitement and commitment that Evan exuded recently when he worked a temporary position at a large Sporting Goods Store here in the Minneapolis area. He was thrilled and put his whole heart and soul into the job. He has risen to every challenge put in front of him. I believe that is due to his own persistence, and due to the strong support of his outstanding family. Evan has been a singular source of kindness, fellowship and unity in our ward. He serves others; and others very much want to help him. Also, Evan’s sense of good fun and humor make immeasurable contributions within his peer group!

Evan is willing to try anything from stage musical productions to Football, Basketball, Track, and Wrestling. He jumps in whether it’s his personal “strong suit” or not. His peers have demonstrated how they feel about him by electing him as their homecoming king at Armstrong High School. I fully endorse Evan for a position at the bookstore. Given his developmental disabilities, consideration will need to be given to placing him in a position that will be the right fit for his skills and abilities. I am happy to discuss that with you further if needed; I recommend Evan to you as a good person, who is reliable, dependable and as one who loves to work and would be an asset to your organization.

Sincerely,

Brad Taylor

HR Director

General Mills Inc.