October reaches beyond just breast cancer awareness month. It is also Down Syndrome awareness month. In order to celebrate the different accomplishments and abilities of those with Down Syndrome, we will be celebrating an individual with Down Syndrome each week during the month of October for person of the week.
Our first great person is none other than Grant Goodman. Grant is the life of the party and class clown at Enterprise High School. This amazing senior should be graduating with high honors in May of 2020.
“He is really OCD about his school work,” stated his mother, Lynese Goodman.
In school, his favorite subject is math, because Grant loves some money. Although he isn’t a fan of reading in the classroom, he does enjoy reading outside of school and will not go to sleep until he has read a book with his mother.
Grant’s excellence goes far beyond just his academics. Grant is extremely athletic. He plays basketball for the Enterprise Bulldogs, shooting the free throws for the team. It was also discovered in a game against the faculty that Grant can also shoot some great 3-point shots. During the summer, Grant plays summer league baseball. He also participates in the Special Olympics and has brought home the gold trophies from the State Games of Mississippi.
He is one of the football team’s biggest fans and insists on going to every game, including the away games, to support “his boys.” In fact, Grant leads the football team out every Friday at their pep rallies. At the games, he can be heard cutting up in the stands shouting and making noise for his team.
Outside of school, Grant has a variety of interests. He is his own band, able to play both the drums and the guitar. He wants a trombone for Christmas to add to his musical talents.
Grant’s favorite holiday, Halloween, is quickly approaching. He loves scary movies and anything scary and has been known to sneak scary masks from home and scare his classmates and teachers at school. Each year, he and his friends have a haunted hayride at his house for Halloween. He’s excited for the Halloween Party this year, because it will be a party for the whole senior class.
Although he does enjoy having fun with his different hobbies, Grant is an extremely hard worker. Once he graduates, he plans to do the job he does each summer: logging. Grant knows how to drive all of the logging equipment and does very well controlling the different vehicles. When he isn’t in the woods helping with the logging, Grant is usually helping his mother at one of her businesses or helping buy the supplies needed for logging and making sure everything is stocked.
Just being around Grant and seeing the genuine joy and kindness that he possesses is enough to make anyone automatically be better and become friends with him.
“Having Grant with his so called ‘special needs’ has made me a better person,” said Lynese Goodman. “I’m grateful every day that the Good Lord gave me Grant, and I would never change anything about him, even if I could.”
One of Grant’s teachers, Mrs. Anita Lowery, only had positive comments about Grant.
“Grant has been a joy to work with, teach, and even help raise. He’s like one of my children, and I treat him like I do my children,” said Mrs. Anita. “He’s brought a lot of joy to our lives, and we wouldn’t change him for anything in the world. He’s been a blessing.”
Grant has his own motto that he exemplifies perfectly and offers it as advice for everyone else to follow.
“Be kind to everyone,” stated Grant.
