Promotion ceremony honors adults with special needs

  • Published
  • By Ryan Stark
  • Nucleus writer
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Early in the career of 1st Lt. Eddie Cruz, a mentor who was a retired Air Force officer gave him what he says was life-changing advice.

"He said, 'Eddie, a true leader doesn't lead from the front, and a true leader doesn't lead from the back. A true leader leads from the heart using Air Force core values,'" remembered Cruz, maintenance flight commander of Kirtland's 58th Special Operations Wing.

It's with that in mind that Cruz began working with young people with special needs in Albuquerque, some of whom were on were on-hand Friday as the Airman received his promotion to first lieutenant.

As part of the ceremony, 58th SOW Commander Col. Dagvin Anderson presented eight with honorary warrior certificates.

Cruz said, although the cause for the occasion was his promotion, he didn't want the day to be about him.

"The way I look at it is that these young adults deserve this way more than I do," he said.

Cruz said he and his fiancée, Yvette, became involved with an organization called Jeremiah's Place upon meeting their neighbors, Gil and Liz Silva, who founded it. The Silvas have an adult daughter with Down Syndrome. Yvette began volunteering there, soon followed by Cruz.

The mission of Jeremiah's Place is to help young adults with special needs gain independence, encouragement and confidence. Classes teach subjects including cooking, physical fitness, technology, reading, writing, arts and crafts, gardening and animal care.

Cruz said people with special needs who are about to become legal adults face certain challenges.

"After a teenager with special needs becomes a young adult, the amount of programs that are out there that will enable them to continue to pursue their education decreases tremendously," he said."This program offers young adults to continue learn and become productive, positive members of society."

Cruz said he gets a tremendous amount of personal satisfaction working with the young people at Jeremiah's Place.

"I've created a friendship with all the students," he said. "The satisfaction you see on their face when they completed an assignment or answered a question correctly means the world to me."

For Anderson, Cruz' enthusiasm for working with the young people is a reminder of the dedication of his Airmen.

"This is the exciting stuff for me," said Anderson about the SOW's new Honorary Warriors. "You don't realize how big an impact our Airmen make, and we appreciate what Lt. Cruz does.
And he's just one of many."

Liz Silva said Cruz' participation at Jeremiah's Place has been invaluable and made a real impact on the kids.

"Eddie is a great example for these young people," she said. "He cheers them on. He challenges them. He rallies them up. And he can get them to do things that we can't. They gravitate toward this young man in the Air Force uniform."

For more about Jeremiah's Place, visit www.jeremiahsplacenm.org.