Jaden Allmond '23 Recruiting Profile

Who am I? I am living proof that you should not judge a book by it’s cover.

I like to help, encourage, and make everyone feel good about themselves. I show others how to be nice, caring, kind, respectful to everyone and not be mean. I can show others a different way of seeing the world. 

My name is Jaden Allmond, and I am autistic.

People tried to limit me because of autism.I proved to them that I have no limits. 

I knew what people saw on the outside was not who I was on the inside. So, I had to work hard for people to see who I really am and to see me for me, and not a label. I understand more than people think I do.  When people hear me talk I can tell that they don’t get me sometimes or they think I’m stupid when they hear me talk.

When I was first diagnosed with autism, the educators told my parents not to expect much from me, and I was placed in a severe autism classroom.  

Autism-that’s all people saw when they looked at me. People didn’t think I belonged or could make it in regular classes, but I proved them wrong by never giving up. Now, I stand out for the right reasons at my high school as a member of the National Honor Society.

When I was three years old, my parents started private swimming lessons to teach me how to swim.   I was always drawn to the water and never afraid of it because it was very peaceful and calming. It made me happy. I didn’t like going underwater because I didn’t like things touching my head.  I turned my weakness into my passion.  Since the first grade when I was 7 years old,  I started swimming on a year round swim team, and have been swimming ever since then.

People did not take me seriously as a swimmer. (I now know that it was because of my autism.) However, when I swim competitively, the first thing my coaches and teammates  say is “Wow! He’s fast!”  Then, they start taking me seriously during practice. 

People didn’t think I could even go to college. I earned an A in both semesters of my Dual Enrollment College Spanish class.  This was my first time speaking Spanish.  I don’t mind being challenged because my goal is to work hard and do my very best. My parents taught me that the only failure is not trying; all I have to do is my best.

In the fifth grade, I became interested in storytelling because I wanted to combine television shows and movies.  My teacher and classmates loved them, and my passion for film was born.  I created a YouTube channel for my video creations.  I even taught myself how to do Lego animations and stop motion videos. In college, I want to study film.

My career goal is to combine my passion to develop characters in movies and design theme parks as an Imagineer.  I became interested in theme parks while I was in the Disney Imagineering’s Khan Academy class, and learning how Disneyland was built, all while I was working on my project on Walt Disney in the fifth grade.  Whenever I go to Disneyland, it makes me feel like it’s real and I know I can design theme parks of my own.  I want to share my love for underrated tv shows and give them the attention that they deserve, just like Disneyland. 

I know college will be a challenge. I am ready to take it on and do well.  I am happy to have my mom and dad at home to support me in whatever I am doing. Autism has not held me back because I was able to persevere and get through all of this, and I didn’t even know I had autism (I found out in August 2021 that I had autism).

People tried to limit me because of autism. I proved to them and will continue to prove that I am limitless.