South senior Lisa Krupinski will be honored at the National Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Convention on April 19-22 for receiving the annual Yes I Can Award, celebrating the various accomplishments of students with disabilities.

Krupinski was one of two recipients chosen nationally from the Transition category, according to Stacey Wolfe, instructional supervisor of the Special Education Department. Emily Porter, Krupinski’s caseworker, also collaborated on a 1,000 word essay and a video submission to nominate Krupinski.

“The transition category [alludes to] work, community participation and independent living,” Porter said. “It really wanted [the nominators] to track where the student first was when they came to the transition team and where they are now.”

Porter says that Krupinski’s progress through her time in the transition program had made her a distinctive applicant in comparison to other hopeful winners.

“A lot of our students end up being very successful in the three aspects of transition, but for Lisa, being in her last year of transition, and seeing how independent she has become, has been really great to see,” Porter said. “This was why we looked at Lisa particularly [to nominate for the award].”

Lisa’s mother, Kristan Krupinski, explained that Lisa’s involvement in the Peer Mentoring program and support from those at GBS have been instrumental in her growth.

“The biggest area of improvement for Lisa has been in her social and communication skills,” Kristan said. “She is more confident making the effort to communicate, which is really hard for her. She has especially enjoyed the Peer Mentoring program.”

The award is a compilation of hard work from both Lisa and her team, according to Kristan.

“The award celebrates Lisa and all the hard work she’s done over the years,” Kristan said. “It also celebrates all of the support that she’s received, because she couldn’t have made the progress that she has without the support of her team both in high school and then later during transition.”

According to Porter and Wolfe, Lisa will converse with the CEC committee ceremony chair about her interests, success and future plans.

Kristan said, “Lisa is most excited for getting her award, being on stage, and the fact that her transition team [can] attend  is very exciting for her.”

According to Porter, Lisa plans to continue her work at a local hotel and further involve herself within the community.

“She is very involved in community agencies,” said Porter. “She does theater and all kinds of things now […] She is going to continue with a lot of that and look for more opportunities.”