Health Messenger: Elizabeth "Liz" Viele
Join us in congratulating one of our newest Health Messengers, Elizabeth Viele! Liz began Special Olympics back in the late 1990s and has competed in basketball, gymnastics, bowling, cross country skiing, flag football, and softball. Liz has a passion for being a leader and wanted to become a Health Messenger so that she could continue to develop her leadership skills as a role model for health and wellness. Liz enjoys leading warm-ups before her exercise classes and hopes to continue to improve her fitness leading skills.
Some of her proudest moments with Special Olympics was being awarded Athlete of the Year and winning first place at basketball tournaments.
Liz is also a health advocate for herself and her fellow SOMI athletes. She believes it is important for health care providers to know that “people with disabilities are different than other patients” and wants people with disabilities to know that it is important to talk with their health care provider about their health and what concerns they may have. She wants to make sure that health care providers are listening to patients with disabilities and that patients with disabilities have a strong voice when discussing their health.
A few tips that Liz would like other athletes to know is to drink lots of water every day, focus on eating healthy snacks, find new ways to cook
healthy meals, and make sure to practice healthy lifestyle choices
everyday to prevent illness.
Looking forward, Liz has a goal of continuing to lead warm-ups and
workouts for SOMI exercise classes and at practices. She wants to “improve being a leader and show athletes there are different ways they can do stretches and [other workouts] at home”.
Way to go, Liz!