En Garde!


At just 17 years of age, Lauryn DeLuca from Parma, Ohio is competing in her first Paralympics for Wheelchair Fencing. If that isn’t amazing and awe-inspiring enough, DeLuca is the only wheelchair fencer from Team USA competing in Rio. Bring home the gold, Lauryn! 


Despite having cerebral palsy, DeLuca competed as an able-bodied fencer up until 2013, when she was picked out and actively recruited by USA Fencing to compete as a wheelchair fencer. She started competing and went on to win a number of Gold medals, including:
  • January 2014 North American Cup (Wheelchair Foil)
  • January 2015 North American Cup (Wheelchair Epee)
  • 2015 USA Fencing National Championships Wheelchair Foil AND Wheelchair Epee)
  • 2016 Wheelchair Pan American Championships (Epee)
After the Paralympics, DeLuca will return to Parma High School as a junior with her twin sister, Olivya. Both Lauryn and Olivya are percussionists for the marching band at Parma High. 


Think about where you were at age 17. Were you competing in the Paralympics? I know I wasn’t. Instead, I was a very shy high school senior who completely kept to herself. I’ve grown past that now and overcome my social anxiety to be outgoing when I need to be and talk to people I don’t know with ease.  If you also have some challenges you need to overcome, we’d like to talk to you, especially if one of those is being an American with disabilities who wants to work. Get in touch and see what we can do to help you follow your dreams.
BIO: Mary E. Hart is the Digital Communications Specialist for NTI. She is also a freelance writer, editor and content strategist, specializing in writing copy that converts. Previously, she worked in Demand Generation marketing for UBM Tech and Ziff Davis Enterprise. In her spare time, Mary is working on the next great ghost novel.

3 comments:

  1. In this episode of the En Garde, we welcome guest Erin Jones. Ms. Jones has written and worked as a magazine editor and columnist in the food world. She’s a graduate of The Willamette University School of Journalism, where she won awards in creative writing and public relations. You can visit this stamped patio installation syracuse for affordable building material. She is currently a contributing editor at Food & Wine magazine, where she writes food-focused columns.

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