Twins Alex and Nicole Ripka launch program for disabled students

Without the Ripka twins, the high school experience would be very different for Jericho High School's special-needs students.

Two years ago, the twins, Alex and Nicole, spearheaded a noncompetitive sports program -- Jammin' Jayhawks -- that allows the district's physically and mentally disabled pupils to play soccer, basketball and baseball each week under the guidance of volunteering classmates.

The program has more than doubled in size since its inception in 2009, the twins said, and now includes a rotating group of 100 high school volunteers working with as many as 30 special-needs students. A dance component was recently added to the program.

"I flat-out realized there was a niche that needed to be filled in Jericho," said Alex Ripka, 18, who got the idea for Jammin' Jayhawks through volunteer work at the Roslyn Jewish Community Center, which he said has a basketball program for autistic youth. "I definitely didn't expect things to get this big."

To launch the idea, the Ripkas drafted a comprehensive proposal of the program's goals and approached the Jericho Athletic Association, a nonprofit that supports various athletic activities within the district. The program consists of weekly meetings at Robert Seaman Elementary School, where special-needs kids pair up with volunteers to practice sports drills in a relaxed atmosphere.

But the athletic aspect is of secondary importance, the Ripkas said. The real reward is witnessing the friendships formed between the special-needs students and their classmates, which are evident through high-fives in school hallways and tables being shared at lunchtime.

"It was the perfect missing element in Jericho," Nicole Ripka said. The program will continue next school year under the leadership of the Ripkas' sister, Danielle, a junior.

"Jammin' Jayhawks stands as an exceptional success story, as it reflects what can be achieved by individuals who place others ahead of themselves," said Brian Deaner, the Ripkas' guidance counselor. "It has grown from one sport with a few volunteers to three sports and a long waiting list of volunteers hoping to be selected."

The twins' involvement in the Jammin' Jayhawks has not clipped their academic wings. Nicole served as her class president from freshman through junior years and has been treasurer of Model Congress, president of Amnesty International and a member of National, Spanish, French and Art honor societies. She is an avid artist and had a sculpture appear this spring in "Long Island's Best: Young Artists," an exhibit at Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington.

Alex has been a member of his school's varsity soccer and tennis teams as well as Model Congress, Amnesty International, Future Business Leaders of America and Jericho's National and Spanish honor societies.

Nicole plans to attend the University of Pennsylvania. Alex will major in business at the University of Michigan.