Monday’s Good News!

 

1.  An 80-year-old woman named Madeline Adams graduated from the University of Nebraska-Omaha . . . 60 years AFTER she planned to.  She said she stopped at the time because “life happened.”  Her daughter encouraged her to go back.

She said she taught her children not to start anything they can’t finish, so she wanted to be a good example.  (Here’s a video news report on Madeline.)

 

2.  A man in Kazakhstan is being called a hero after he saved a three-year-old girl from falling from an eighth-floor window last week.  He was passing by when he saw her, and he rushed into the building to save her.  (Here’s video.)

 

3.  A woman in Michigan found out she won a $500,000 Powerball prize . . . on Mother’s Day.

 

4. Elizabeth Bonker graduated from Rollins College in Florida — and was chosen to deliver the commencement speech to the college’s graduating students.

But here’s the thing,  she has non-speaking autism — and was able to give her speech using a text-to-speech program.

Elizabeth — who lost her ability to speak when she was 15 months old — graduated with a degree in social innovation and also created her own nonprofit organization, called Communication 4 ALL, that works to “ensure that non-speakers with autism have access to the communication and education essential to living meaningful lives.”

She is also a poet and author who wrote a book — I Am In Here — about her journey as a child with autism.

After all that success, Elizabeth ended her time at Rollins College with a moving speech.

“God gave you a voice. Use it,” Elizabeth told the graduating class. “And no, the irony of a non-speaking autistic encouraging you to use your voice is not lost on me. Because if you can see the worth in me, then you can see the worth in everyone you meet.”

-Mitch-