{"id":187198,"date":"2026-04-06T15:12:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/187198\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T15:12:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:12:39","slug":"brooklyn-gilhooly-shines-through-the-global-inclusive-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/187198\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn Gilhooly shines through the Global Inclusive Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following feature appears in the March 2026 issue of Mile High Sports Magazine, which is available now. To see the full digital issue, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hugs welcome everyone that joins Brooklyn Gilhooly for lunch.<\/p>\n

Seated toward the end of an extra-long pub table, Brooklyn is wearing a black, long-sleeve Nike workout shirt. She nibbles on a hamburger as she holds court in the sprawling \u2018Table at Regis\u2019 dining facility at Regis University.<\/p>\n

Between hugs and conversation, she dips her burger with a swirl into ketchup that\u2019s been pumped onto a small white plate and takes another bite.<\/p>\n

First up is Elizabeth, her friend who wears a tie-dye tee shirt from the 1990s era ska punk band Sublime. Later, Megan arrives for lunch. She has a white Hello Kitty fanny pack stretched across her chest. From it, she pulls a necklace with a half-heart, a gift from Brooklyn \u2014 who has the other half.<\/p>\n

Seated across from Brooklyn is her father, Tommy Gilhooly, the Associate VP\/Director of Athletics & Strategic Partnership at Regis. Brooklyn, 20, is in her first year at Regis and studying for the GLOBAL Inclusive College Certificate Program.<\/p>\n

The GLOBAL program provides a collegiate experience for 24 young people with intellectual disabilities. Brooklyn, a college student with Down syndrome, lives on the Regis campus in a suite with four other members of the GLOBAL program.<\/p>\n

Just like any other student on campus, she visits the Regis Fitness Center five days a week. She strolls to Loyall Hall for class and hangs out at the Ranger Den, where there\u2019s karaoke, a patio lined with Adirondack chairs and other fun activities to fill students\u2019 free time.<\/p>\n

A part of the Rangers Unified team, Brooklyn plays on the flag football, basketball and soccer teams. Other students in the GLOBAL program fill the table, and the conversations are probably similar to the ones taking place at other nearby tables. Members of the men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball teams file in and make up small talk with Tommy and other GLOBAL students.<\/p>\n

When asked what she likes about basketball, Brooklyn doesn\u2019t hesitate \u2013 she\u2019s all about offense.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to practice dribbling and shooting,\u201d Brooklyn said. \u201cAnd scoring. We got second place at regionals.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a father\u2019s charm, Tommy chimes in with her nickname and gets the entire table involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about defense, BK?\u201d<\/p>\n

Suddenly the entire table comes alive. With a laugh and smile, catcalls from the peanut gallery fill the air as some of her teammates get in on giving Brooklyn some good-natured ribbing.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefense!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yeah Brooklyn, how about defense?\u201d<\/p>\n

A giant smile plastered across her face, Brooklyn laughs, raises her hands to her eyes and sheepishly says, \u201cYeah, defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a camaraderie that\u2019s palpable. As ambient light pours into the softly-lit, wide-open, wood-trimmed space, the chatter from the GLOBAL students creates a welcoming vibe. The students here aren\u2019t just part of an inclusion program. They are thriving, and living their best college lives.<\/p>\n

The Visionaries<\/p>\n

Dreams are what Jermaine Stafford spends his days making sure come true.<\/p>\n

As the Facilities Director for UPSWING Centennial, Stafford is focused on sports performance training, dance and recovery for athletes 19-years old and younger. UPSWING has also worked with the homeless youth community in Denver. On Friday nights a faith-based initiative dubbed \u201cFriday Night Lights\u201d reaches another population segment.<\/p>\n

But when a grant led UPSWING to train GLOBAL students twice per week, for two hours per session, from last June through August, the impact it had on athletes and staff was remarkable.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all instructed the athletes and had them go through sessions,\u201d Stafford said \u201cIt was so refreshing. I can\u2019t even put into words what it was like. I\u2019ve been in performance coaching for 30 years, and it\u2019s not every day you get an opportunity so heartfelt. It served a purpose well beyond finance. It\u2019s easy to train and have services rendered; this was totally different. I felt blessed to be put into a position to pour our energy and efforts into these young people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The efforts Michelle Sie Whitten has poured into the GLOBAL Foundation have led to numerous opportunities for the program\u2019s participants. She concurs \u2014 everything about the GLOBAL program at Regis, and the work done over the summer at UPSWING, stands out as exceptional.<\/p>\n

Yet, Sie Whitten wants more. The President, CEO and co-founder of the Denver-based Global Down syndrome Foundation is the visionary that helped establish what is in place. She founded GLOBAL in 2009, when
her daughter Sophia was born with Down syndrome, and is proud of its growth, but she also sees how it can be improved, tweaked and scaled to reach an even larger audience.<\/p>\n

Regis is the only Jesuit university and the second Catholic one with a post-secondary program for students with intellectual disabilities. There\u2019s untapped potential for the program to grow and spread across the country. However, even as it seems like GLOBAL has a solid template in place to scale the program, Sie Whitten wants to capture more data, because she said the field of \u201chow people learn with intellectual disabilities is a desert.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first class, in which her daughter is enrolled, is set to advance this spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are only scratching the surface here,\u201d Sie Whitten said. \u201cWe were told [to] never get funding or never launch a program and get medical funding. Fast-forward to today: we are the largest pediatric Down syndrome center in the United States. With 2,700 patients, we are the second largest in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think pretty big. Our vision is codified in our agreement with Regis, and we provided the seed funding for this. We actually co-created the curriculum and everything about it. We brought the expertise. So many programs are one or two years. Our students go four years, and that was very important to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Creighton, Gonzaga and Loyola Marymount are other universities that have expressed interest in the GLOBAL program, there\u2019s still work to be done.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t give away something that\u2019s not fully baked,\u201d she said. \u201cWe envision a world where when we help you launch this in your university, we have done our due diligence and built a strong core curriculum that we want everyone to use.\u201d<\/p>\n

What everyone at UPSWING used was the inspiration brought forth by the GLOBAL students.<\/p>\n

\u201cKids with Down syndrome can do everything grown up adults can do \u2013 everything,\u201d Stafford said. \u201cThey are just as equipped to do what we do. They were so excited to show they can train and do the same things we do athletically. There\u2019s no inability for them to grow as people through sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opportunity
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

(Randy Parietti Photography)<\/p>\n

Tommy, Nicole and Brooklyn Gilhooly stood above the pool at the Carla Madison Recreation Center.<\/p>\n

As father, mother and daughter watched Denver East swimmers begin their practice routine, they prepared to ask coach Dave Quintana if Brooklyn could be on the team.<\/p>\n

The veteran coach, who has led the Angels to 11 Denver Public School swim league titles in his 18 years at the helm of the program, said he would welcome Brooklyn to the team, but she had to meet the standard of every other athlete.<\/p>\n

He had practices to run and a team to coach and she couldn\u2019t be a distraction. It\u2019s an answer that had to be music to Tommy and Nicole\u2019s ears. They raised Brooklyn to never back down, and she embraced the challenge of being a member of the Angels swim team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI treated her the same as all the other girls on the team; the whole coaching staff did as well,\u201d Quintana said. \u201cI expected her to do everything the same way everyone else did. She\u2019d get yelled at or have to swim a 50 \u2014 just like everyone else would \u2014 if she was messing around. I expected her to do the job she was supposed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being held to the same standard as her brothers started at an early age for Brooklyn. When the kids were younger, Tommy and Nicole dropped them off for ski lessons. The parents had some down time and hit the slopes for a few hours, with their children supposedly getting instruction.<\/p>\n

After a few hours, Tommy returned to find Sean and Jimmy working their turns on the bunny hill. But Brooklyn wasn\u2019t working on wedging or poling. She\u2019d found her way off to the corner of the hill and was making snow angels. Tommy asked the ski instructor why Brooklyn wasn\u2019t engaged with the rest of the class.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe instructor told me that she was tired,\u201d Tommy said. \u201cI told him I wanted to see her skiing, and it was okay to be tough on her. We wanted her to ski ,and she was going to ski. When we came back, she was skiing. I take that as a life lesson. Many have the ability, but what is the environment \u2014 and what is the expectation?<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s never been treated any differently than two, very athletic, high-performing brothers. She rises to that expectation. She\u2019s fearless. She\u2019s not afraid of anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tommy wasn\u2019t surprised when Brooklyn rose to the occasion as a member of the East swim team. After all, he\u2019s joked with her about being a mermaid, because of the way she took to the water at a young age.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe swam varsity and beat other kids,\u201d Tommy said. \u201cThat\u2019s where she found her happy place. She\u2019s had an incredible journey. She\u2019s always been ahead of the curve in learning things. So the first time she was in the pool with those ladies, I wasn\u2019t worried about her ability to swim or her safety. We had to wonder [that] if her mom or I stepped out, would she wander off? But we learned that wasn\u2019t an issue, and from there, we were never concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n

When she was 3 years old, Nicole first took Brooklyn to private swim lessons at a neighborhood house.<\/p>\n

The round pool filled most of the back yard, and as part of the deal, Nicole had to pass back through the gate through which she and Brooklyn entered. No parents allowed, just a 1-on-1 lesson where the student and instructor can get down to business.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s always been a great swimmer,\u201d Nicole said. \u201cWe put her in swim lessons early on. I think she was maybe 3 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we dropped her off, the instructor told us, \u2018You guys can leave.\u2019 When we came back, the instructor had us watch what Brooklyn did. She pushed her way under water, swam down and grabbed a little pink pool ring like it was nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s always loved swimming. We are members at a pool in the summer, and when the lifeguards blew the whistle for adult swim, she was always the last to get out of the pool. We had to chase her out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Game Time<\/p>\n

Tommy called it his game face, and Brooklyn saw right through it.<\/p>\n

When Nicole was diagnosed with breast cancer and receiving treatments, Tommy came home from work, determined to keep everyone\u2019s spirits high. He wasn\u2019t eating or sleeping well. He worried for his wife\u2019s wellbeing and had increased responsibilities around household operations. He\u2019d shuffle between home, work and the hospital.<\/p>\n

But the moment he hit the family\u2019s front door, he buried the exhaustion and all those feelings deep. He\u2019d grab the boys and start wrestling, telling jokes and laughing. Anything to keep the family immersed in positive vibes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d come in and say, \u2018Dad is home!\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019d wrestle with the boys and everyone would have a good time. I\u2019d go to hug Brooklyn and she\u2019d pull away and look at me right in the face. She\u2019d ask, \u2018Daddy, are you sick?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe could see it on my face, she would worry and hold my face and say, \u2018Daddy is sick.\u2019 It\u2019s just something I couldn\u2019t hide from her. When people are down, there\u2019s just something about it that she can see. She\u2019s so authentic; I couldn\u2019t hide it from her.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe might not be super eloquent with her linguistics, but she can really be the pied piper.\u201d<\/p>\n

College<\/p>\n

Team photos hang on the brown-brick walls at the Regis Field House lobby. Regis\u2019 team colors of blue and gold fill the space as the images of collegiate athletes stare down at all who enter.<\/p>\n

Pictured just outside the glass doors of the athletic department administrative offices are basketball players in their shorts and jerseys. Baseball players pictured in uniform with their pants, jerseys and hats. Cross country runners in their bibs and runners\u2019 shorts.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s typical fare for a collegiate athletics department to proudly display its student athletes. Hanging on the same wall is a photo of the Regis Unified team, right next to every other athlete at Regis. In the left-hand corner of the Unified team picture is Brooklyn. She\u2019s wearing a blue jersey, right arm raised as if she\u2019s flexing. Ready to take on all comers.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the attitude Regis unified coach Abby Weber has grown to love.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrooklyn is very spirited,\u201d Weber said. \u201cShe wears her heart on her sleeve. She\u2019s very energetic, sassy and confident in who she is, and what she brings to the table. She\u2019s very confident, even though I think coming to college has been a big life change and adaptation for her. She\u2019s living here without her parents during the week. She goes home on the weekend. But she\u2019s responsible and on her own here. Working with her is a new experience every day; she always brings a sense of joy and laughter, whether that\u2019s in the classroom, practice or anything she does.\u201d<\/p>\n

Off to Class<\/p>\n

Brooklyn is eagerly awaiting the arrival of Nick Hansen, her boyfriend.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s into powerlifting and holds a black belt in taekwondo. He strolls in just before Brooklyn has to leave for class. He\u2019swearing a red t-shirt with a large No. 6 on the front and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers logo printed just above the number. It\u2019s a Baker Mayfield \u201cshirzey\u201d \u2013 Nick\u2019s favorite player.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got a YouTube channel,\u201d Brooklyn said. \u201cHe kicks hard. He\u2019s got a kick board [that] he kicks when barefoot.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a weightlifter, Nick, who has a barrel chest to match any strong man, squatted 205 pounds at the Special Olympics Colorado 2025 Summer Games to set the state record for the junior lightweight division.<\/p>\n

When he heads to the counter for lunch, Brooklyn follows. They\u2019ve only got a few minutes to hang out. She has to trek across the quad to go to class: Speaking With Authority.<\/p>\n

But she can catch a ride on the back of Tommy\u2019s golf cart, tricked out like a \u201857 Chevy, and make it to
class on time.<\/p>\n

When Tommy softly says, \u201cOn your left,\u201d to a female college student headed to class, the performer in Brooklyn comes out.<\/p>\n

\u201cSlide to the left, slide to the right,\u201d Brooklyn says to the rhythm of Cupid\u2019s seminal hit ,\u2019Cupid Shuffle.\u2019 \u201cThat\u2019s the Cupid Song.\u201d<\/p>\n

The golf cart comes to a stop at the stairs that lead to Loyal Hall. A giant white cross hangs from the right side of the single-story brick building. Brooklyn hops off the back of the golf cart.<\/p>\n

She doesn\u2019t step to the left or step to the right; there are no crisscross moves being made \u2014 but with a bounce in her gait, she goes straight up the stairs.<\/p>\n

She throws a hand up in the air and with her back to the golf cart, says, \u201cBye, guys.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The following feature appears in the March 2026 issue of Mile High Sports Magazine, which is available now.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":187199,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,75034,75035,9,24,63,75036],"class_list":{"0":"post-187198","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn","8":"tag-brooklyn","9":"tag-brooklyn-headlines","10":"tag-brooklyn-news","11":"tag-denver-east","12":"tag-girls-swimming","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-city","15":"tag-nyc","16":"tag-upswing"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}