th<\/sup> grades. For two years, Special Olympics has taken athletes to the camp to teach leadership skills and build confidence, as well as teach other participating students about the abilities of Special Olympics athletes and give everyone the opportunity to work side-by-side on projects.<\/p>\nHis mother, Julie Bernhardt, said that her son was nervous, yet excited about the camp because he would be meeting new people from different middle schools, high schools and colleges.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s is a new obstacle for him to overcome, being away from home without a familiar face. He hopes to share with them the knowledge that everybody is different in their own special way and that you have to work hard at everything in life,\u201d said Mrs. Bernhardt.<\/p>\n
Although he is not currently involved in student council at school, Justin is representing Hazelwood Northwest Middle at the camp. He is unsure if he will join student council in the coming school year, but more importantly, he would like to be a role model and leadership ambassador for Special Olympics, his mother explained.<\/p>\n
After he returns from leadership camp, Justin will focus his time and energy getting ready for the Special Olympics National Games in Lincoln, Neb., to be held July 18 through July 23. He is a member of the MO Magic, or Team Missouri, basketball squad.<\/p>\n
He has been playing basketball with SOMO for five years. He is a guard and forward, and enjoys the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like being on the court against people who are taller and bigger,\u201d he said. \u00a0Then with a slight smile, he said, \u201cI stuff \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bernhardt said Justin is the youngest on the team, \u201cbut can score three-pointers and maneuver a ball with the best of them.\u201d She said the sport came naturally to him, and that he has good speed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd hops,\u201d Justin added.<\/p>\n
Being involved in Special Olympics is a family affair for the Bernhardt\u2019s. The family is traveling with Justin to the national games, but his sister, Jessica, a junior at Hazelwood West High School, will be there for another reason.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince he\u2019s going to be with the team, our family will be there to support him the whole way. I\u2019ll be there as a volunteer and as a fan,\u201d said Jessica.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t her first experience as a Special Olympics volunteer. She has helped with her brother\u2019s team in various ways, and has volunteered at the annual Special Olympics unified track and field meet at Hazelwood West. She wants to help at the national games \u201cfor the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m proud of him and I\u2019m very excited for him,\u201d said Jessica. \u201cHe\u2019s stuck with it, he always gives 110 percent and he\u2019s always outside shooting hoops when he\u2019s not practicing. He has kept his grades up through all of this, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very proud of both of them,\u201d said Bernhardt. \u201cThe bond between the two is strong and they are protective of one another.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe changes in Justin alone have been amazing,\u201d she said, explaining that before he became a SOMO athlete, he was \u201ca shy, frightened little boy who didn\u2019t understand why people made fun of him. He didn\u2019t know that there were other individuals like him that had challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has not only made wonderful friendships within the SOMO family, he has made new friends at school and out of school, which he never would have done before Special Olympics,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince he has been at Hazelwood Northwest Middle, he has learned that to others his age, he is just another guy hanging out with his buddies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Besides basketball, Justin plays soccer and baseball and likes to bike. He is teaching himself to play the bass guitar, while his sister is learning the acoustic guitar. At school, Jessica is involved in Pep Club, volleyball and National Honor Society, and she works at Taco Bell.<\/p>\n
Justin and Anton Jones, a junior at Hazelwood East High School, are teammates representing Missouri with the Special Olympics at the national games. Earlier this spring, Jones was featured in story from the District about his experience with SOMO. (story courtesy of Hazelwood Communications Dept.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Justin Bernhardt, an eighth-grade student at Hazelwood Northwest Middle School, is going to have a busy, fulfilling summer, due to his association with Special Olympics of Missouri (SOMO). Justin is one of 12 students selected to represent SOMO at a Missouri Association of Student Councils leadership camp at William Woods University in Fulton. The camp […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-school-news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n
It\u2019s Going be Busy Summer For Special Olympics Student From Hazelwood NW Middle - flovalleynews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=3590\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It\u2019s Going be Busy Summer For Special Olympics Student From Hazelwood NW Middle - flovalleynews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Justin Bernhardt, an eighth-grade student at Hazelwood Northwest Middle School, is going to have a busy, fulfilling summer, due to his association with Special Olympics of Missouri (SOMO). Justin is one of 12 students selected to represent SOMO at a Missouri Association of Student Councils leadership camp at William Woods University in Fulton. 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