Summit Community Center helps people continue to grow and progress after high school graduation.
SEATTLE — As she chops carrots for cooking class, Colleen McMurry thinks of the bigger picture.
She has all the ingredients to live a fulfilling life.
“I love anything to do with cooking,” McMurray said. “Knowing how to make it is important.”
McMurry dreams of one day working in an Italian restaurant, and despite being diagnosed with Down Syndrome, she is doing everything in her power to make that dream a reality.
“Having Down Syndrome does not define who I am,” McMurray said, “and it does not stop me from doing the things I love.”
McMurry attends the Summit Community Center, a nonprofit organization in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
The center teaches people with intellectual and developmental disabilities the skills they need to succeed in the mainstream world — everything from cooking to computers to communication to life skills — and has a gym and a gorgeous patio with pool tables and cornhole overlooking Cal Anderson Park.
It’s primarily a place for people between the ages of 18 and 35 to come and be themselves.
“It’s very community-oriented, and I like that about it,” McMurray said. “I enjoy being around people who understand what I go through every day.”
The facility was founded by a group of families who realized there was no place for people with these disabilities to continue their development after high school.
Approximately 6.5 million Americans live with an intellectual disability.
The summit is now celebrating its first anniversary. The center has helped 250 people.
“It’s great for people who often have to hide parts of themselves to be able to be their true selves,” said Summit Community Center Executive Director Alicia Nathan. “They can be silly, they can have fun, and no one will judge them if they have hard times.”
McMurray considers the friends he made at Summit to be like extended family.
As he pursues his dream of running an Italian restaurant, McMurray believes he’s found the secret to success at Summit.
“When you come here you feel welcome and you feel loved every day,” McMurray said. “As a person with a disability, this is an amazing community that loves you.”