Evanston’s Caroline Colianne was named the first Special Olympian to join the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday. “For them to recognize what our athletes bring to the world is fantastic,” said Peter Beale-DelVecchio, president and Chief Executive Officer of Special Olympics Illinois. “So often they’re told, ‘You can’t do this’ or ‘You shouldn’t do this’ or ‘Never do this.’ And time and time again, just like Caroline, they show the world that they can do it.”

Caroline’s journey began 18 years ago, when her father called Leonard Woodson, who was then and still is in charge of Evanston’s Special Olympics program. Woodson remembers the call. “He said, ‘Hey, my daughter is in Evanston. She’s just kind of sitting around. She used to run track a lot, but now she’s not doing much of anything’.”