By Austin Erblat | South Florida Sun Sentinel
Walking to the podium with unquestioning confidence in his stride, Kyle MacDonnell, accompanied by his mother Mary Sue MacDonnell and surrounded by hundreds of people, had a lot to say to the audience of students, teachers, administrators, elected officials, news media and others, considering he was almost completely nonverbal growing up. Among the numerous points of pride he discussed, he beamed when he said, “Last week, I even got my first paycheck.”
Mary Sue MacDonnell and her son Kyle, 21, speak during the Project Next ribbon cutting at the Palm Beach School for Autism in Lake Worth on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019. The school unveiled a new 10,000-square-foot kitchen extension, classroom, mock hotel room and more for culinary and hospitality students with autism.
Photos: (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel) (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Having been diagnosed with autism at a young age, Kyle MacDonnell, 21, is one of the first adult students to go through the Palm Beach School for Autism’s Project Next, a collaboration with the Duffy’s Foundation and Kolter Hospitality, which has a portfolio that includes various South Florida Hyatts, a Hilton and a Westin hotel, with more on the way. As part of the project, the Duffy’s Foundation and Kolter Hospitality donated time and resources to help the school at 8480 Lantana Road expand its kitchen and culinary and hospitality programs.
