Porter County’s Kerr Takes Advantage of ALU Opportunity to Make History

Karen Kerr didn’t know where Special Olympics Indiana would take her when she joined as an athlete in 2014 in Porter County.

Playing in that first cornhole tournament, honestly, would have been plenty.

In the decade since, though, Kerr has expanded her Special Olympics experience and now prepares to break new ground as the first athlete to serve as an athlete coordinator at Athlete Leadership University (ALU).

“Always expect the unexpected about being adaptable,” Kerr said of being up to the challenge. “I have learned a lot from my athlete leaders and mentors along with learning from being observant. I learned from all the training sessions and how to manage the stuff (I will need to do).”

ALU is one of Special Olympic Indiana’s foundational programs. It offers the athletes to meet twice per year – once in the spring, once in the fall – at Butler University.

Starting with the Introduction to Athlete Leadership course, athletes learn about the organization, create a personal mission statement and plan how they can lead within the organization. From there, they pick one of seven majors: Communications, Events, Governance, Health and Fitness, Sports, Technology, Visual Arts.

Kerr studied Communications along with Health and Fitness, including an internship with the state office.

As an athlete coordinator, she will take on roles such as event planning, coordinating with coaches and mentors, recruitment, registration, making the athletes’ overall experience positive and using her degree to teach other athletes.

Terri Hendle was the athlete coordinator for Kerr and now turns the role over to her former student.

“It is rewarding because you get to meet new athlete leaders, get to see graduates get their diplomas and have other opportunities that don’t always come their way,” Hendle said.

The next ALU is April 2025 at Butler University. To learn more about Athlete Leadership University, visit SOindiana.org/athlete-leadership.