Alexandrea Rutledge of Flushing, Michigan, has participated in Special Olympics for more than 12 years, training in athletics, basketball, bowling, cross country skiing and volleyball. Along the way, she has made new friends and has become more independent. In the Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025, she will represent Special Olympics USA in cross country skiing.
A student at Carman-Ainsworth High School, she is part of the Genesee Intermediate School District’s Project CHOICE, an alternative classroom setting for students identified as Moderately Cognitively Impaired. At school, students practice vocational skills to prepare for integration in community environments. After school, Alexandrea practices with one of her coaches, working to improve her endurance. She is readying to represent her state and her country to the best of her ability in Italy.