Christopher Newport University

CNU Student Makes a Difference with the Special Olympics
Internship + International Study + Outreach = Life of Significance

 

News Release - February 20, 2008

Media Contact:
Emily L. Lucier
Press Secretary and Media Manager
emily.lucier@cnu.edu
(757) 594-8428


(NEWPORT NEWS, Va.) - Miranda Egan, a senior management student at Christopher Newport University employed academic skills from the Luter College of Business and Leadership at CNU and put them to the test working as an intern at the Special Olympics headquarters in Washington, D.C.  She selected Special Olympics International [SOI], an organization important to Ms. Egan’s entire family because her older brother, David, has Downs Syndrome.  She served as intern in the Global Events and Marketing Department of SOI and worked on projects culminating in an international experience in Shanghai, China to assist in the Honored Guest Program at the 2007 World Summer Games.  Ms. Egan earned academic credit and recognition for her stellar performance during her internship this past summer and fall. 
 
Miranda Egan with Special Olympics Athletes at the Capitol
Ms. Egan at the Great Wall of China
 
Miranda Egan and David Egan ,with President George W. Bush at a special ceremony in the Rose Garden
 

She used her classroom management and logistics skills in a real world application to arrange for the Special Olympics Team USA to visit Washington, D.C. and light the flame of hope from Athens, Greece.  While in the nation’s capital Ms. Egan ensured that the Special Olympians had a memorable experience touring the monuments and Capitol. She and her brother David, pictured above with President Bush, enjoyed a private Rose Garden Ceremony with the President and First Lady at the White House.  Ms Egan is passionate about raising awareness of intellectual disabilities and she is now engaging in community outreach by planning a Fall CNU event highlighting the importance of inclusion in our workplaces and communities.  As a result of her internship, international experience, and outreach efforts, she will enter a career in philanthropic event coordinating for corporations after graduation next December.

 

Christopher Newport University is a four-year public university in Newport News, Virginia. CNU enrolls 4,800 students in programs through its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Joseph W. Luter III College of Business and Leadership and offers great teaching, small classes and an emphasis on leadership, civic engagement and honor.
Visit us at www.cnu.edu.