By Leah Mazur
Historians write about events in the past that inspire them and help them understand the movements that matter to them. For the past seven years, Will Munro (‘24) has participated in the Special Olympics as a unified partner (a participant without disabilities) and has traveled to Berlin as a member of the United States’ basketball team. In 2022 he was named Florida’s Unified Partner of the Year and in 2024, he was inducted into the UF Student Life Hall of Fame. You could say that the Special Olympics is in his blood, as his grandfather has volunteered with the organization for decades. When Will was choosing a topic for his honors thesis, there was no question he would explore the development of the Special Olympics.
He traced his experiences back to the founding of the organization by researching Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s impact on the Special Olympics. Shriver was inspired by the plight of her sister, Rosemary Kennedy, whom their father subjected to a lobotomy that resulted in her permanent disability. Shriver’s influence as a member of the Kennedy family transformed a small program into a global phenomenon. Unsatisfied with existing secondary sources as he began the project, Will read memoirs of participants and conducted oral history interviews. His favorite source was his interview with Tim Shriver, the son of Eunice and the current chair of the Special Olympics. “It was an honor to spend 30 minutes with a person I have always looked up to and to hear from him about why his mother founded Special Olympics,” Munro said.
Munro also strived to relate the history he was researching to the lives of current Special Olympians. Utilizing memoirs, literature, and interviews, Munro explored the growth of the Special Olympics organization, its connections to the International Olympic Committee, and the impact on participating athletes. His teammates Keke Brown, Ivory Richardson, and Willard Rile are key figures in his work and “some of the most kind-hearted, determined, and hardworking people” Munro has ever met.
Munro graduated from the University of Florida in spring 2024 and currently attends Vanderbilt University Law School. Whatever the future holds, Munro says that he will continue to advocate for the Special Olympics “wherever my journey takes me.”