{"id":6987,"date":"2026-04-29T00:48:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T00:48:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pj.rit.edu\/nppa\/?p=6987"},"modified":"2026-04-29T00:48:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T00:48:17","slug":"2026-photo-story-honorable-mention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pj.rit.edu\/nppa\/2026\/04\/29\/2026-photo-story-honorable-mention\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Photo Story Honorable Mention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A maximum of 12 images compiled in a picture story or essay that reflects the human experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honorable Mention: Colin Norland<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

DiPetta<\/strong> \u2013 Caitlin DiPetta is a teacher, educator, and Special Olympics coach at BOCES in Elmira N.Y., she spends time outside of her normal schedule refining her team\u2019s skills to compete at the highest level. DiPetta\u2019s family is extremely involved in the Special Olympics community her daughter Grace DiPetta is a coach in training for the team, and her husband and son come to every game team has \u201cIt\u2019s nothing for me to go on a weekend trip in the winter, but for these kids its an experience they won’t forget\u201d, said DiPetta. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From top left, Bentley Hartman, Austin Manning, bottom left, Grace DiPetta, head coach Caitlin DiPetta, Faith Bound , video call their school teacher during the opening ceremonies at Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center in Rochester, N.Y. on Feb. 20, 2026. Coach DiPetta teaches at BOCES in Elmira N.Y. and takes a group of floorball athletes to Special Olympics every year. \u201cThis is my favorite weekend of the year, and it\u2019s so much more fun for the kids\u201d, said Caitlin DiPetta<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Coach Caitlin DiPetta, center, hangs up a sign on the hotel room door while Lucas Malanoski, left, and Jonathan VanZole, right, look on before the opening ceremonies at the Hilton Garden Inn Rochester Downtown in Rochester, N.Y., on Feb. 20, 2026. Coach DiPetta\u2019s daughter Grace created signs for each athletes to put on their door.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Members of the Phoenix Fury floorball team hang out in the pool before the opening ceremonies at the Hilton Garden Inn Rochester Downtown in Rochester, N.Y., on Feb. 20, 2026. \u201cSpecial Olympics is much more than just the sports competition, for some of these kids it\u2019s their first time away from their parents\u201d, said Caitlin DiPetta.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Caitlin DiPetta, center, lays out the plan for the evening ceremonies to Bentlyn Hartman, left, Johnathan VanZole, bottom right, and Devlyn Kihm, top right, at the Hilton Garden Inn Rochester Downtown in Rochester, N.Y., on Feb. 20, 2026. \u201cLet\u2019s have the best weekend ever\u201d, said Caitlin DiPetta.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Grace DiPetta, left, leans onto Coach Caitlin DiPetta during the opening ceremonies at Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center in Rochester, N.Y. on Feb. 20, 2026. Coach DiPetta has brought her daughter Grace to the Special Olympics for five years as a coach in training. \u201cThey might talk different than you, or you might need tp asl them to repeat themselves, but there\u2019s nothing wrong with that. There\u2019s nothing to be afraid of when it comes to those friendships\u2019, said Grace DiPetta.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Family members and athletes of the Phoenix Fury tape a poster to the wall during floorball competition at Nazareth Golisano Training Center in Rochester, N.Y. on Feb. 21, 2026. A large group of family members showed up to support the team. \u201cYou have to show them support as much as any other athlete, they deserve it\u201d, said Cindy Manning, Austin\u2019s mother.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Members of the Phoenix Fury stretch before the match during floorball competition at Nazareth Golisano Training Center in Rochester, N.Y. on Feb. 21, 2026. Through floorball athletes work together to support themselves and others. \u201cI didn\u2019t like floorball that much, but now I like it, I like spending time with the team and laughing with them\u201d, said athlete Angel Baldeck.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Coach DiPetta speaks to her team during a floorball match at Nazareth Golisano Training Center in Rochester, N.Y. on Feb. 21, 2026. Head Coach DiPetta has dual roles as a coach and teacher but within both roles she connects with the students. \u201cShe\u2019s in her comfort zone in this sport, working with these kids\u201d, said Coach Jamie Madison about DiPetta.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Head Coach Caitlin DiPetta, left, and Coach Jamie Madison shout and cheer for their team after scoring during a match at Nazareth Golisano Training Center in Rochester, N.Y. on Feb. 21, 2026. The Phoenix Fury won gold in their floorball division. \u201cHard work pays off\u201d, said DiPetta<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Phoenix Fury huddle up before their gold medal match during floorball competition at Nazareth Golisano Training Center in Rochester, N.Y. on Feb. 21, 2026. The Phoenix Fury practice everyday at school, spending hours together within the week. \u201cAt a regular high school these kids don\u2019t get support, with Phoenix they support each other no matter what\u201d said Coach DiPetta.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Coach DiPetta stands with her gold medal around her neck after the floorball competition at Nazareth Golisano Training Center in Rochester, N.Y. on Feb. 21, 2026. The Phoenix Fury had been up for ten hours by 3:00 PM and had another six hours to go. \u201cI\u2019m tired, I\u2019m sore, and I\u2019m pumped up\u201d, said DiPetta.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Coach Caitlin DiPetta prepares for their the floorball competition at the Hilton Garden Inn Rochester Downtown in Rochester, N.Y., on Feb. 21, 2026. \u201cIf God only gave me one group of people to surround myself with, they are the people I\u2019d choose to be with\u201d, said DiPetta about her team.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A maximum of 12 images compiled in a picture story or essay that reflects the human experience. Honorable Mention: Colin Norland DiPetta \u2013 Caitlin DiPetta is a teacher, educator, and Special Olympics coach at BOCES in Elmira N.Y.,… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","no-comments"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pj.rit.edu\/nppa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pj.rit.edu\/nppa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pj.rit.edu\/nppa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pj.rit.edu\/nppa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pj.rit.edu\/nppa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6987"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pj.rit.edu\/nppa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6991,"href":"https:\/\/pj.rit.edu\/nppa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6987\/revisions\/6991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pj.rit.edu\/nppa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pj.rit.edu\/nppa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pj.rit.edu\/nppa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}