Lieutenant Bernstein works for the Virginia Beach Police Department. He's been connected to Special Olympics for a long time, beginning when he volunteered for several SOVA fundraisers. At the time, Adam didn't know the impact that those fundraisers had on Special Olympics, or his own life.
Flashback twenty years ago: Adam was serving as the School Resource Officer at Ocean Lakes High School. Every day, Adam would stop by two classrooms of students with intellectual disabilities. Each Monday, the students brought in any medals or ribbons they won while competing in Special Olympics over the weekend. Adam witnessed their pure joy as they recounted their experiences competing in Special Olympics events.
Those smiles and stories inspired Adam to commit even more to Special Olympics, where he planned fundraisers and medal presentations, before being named the SOVA LETR coordinator for the VBPD in 2011.