‘Moving and Insightful’ Win

PITTSBURGH_For the second year in a row, our Look Who’s Here! founding host Erin Gannon won a Golden Quill award for audio journalism from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania.

The judges described ‘A Wonderful Life:’ Raising a Child with Down syndrome” as “moving and insightful.” In the audio podcast episode, Gannon interviewed her parents, Nancy and Dr. Bob Gannon. The episode was recognized in the lifestyle category. The piece was edited by Shalace Moore for Unabridged Press. Erin received the award at press club’s awards dinner at the Rivers Casino on May 29. (She is pictured with her mother below.)

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Erin Gannon’s life mirrors a significant era in inclusion. She was in the first generation of people with disabilities mainstreamed in public schools. In the decades before Gannon was born, doctors had recommended people with Down syndrome leave their families and go to institutions where they received little or no education. That practice of segregation was becoming less common and Gannon’s parents wouldn’t hear of it.

“We would never tell you that you couldn’t learn something,” Nancy told Erin in the interview. “You’d have to figure that out for yourself eventually—that there were some things you would not be able to do, like driving a car.”

When Erin was born, Nancy reached out to a Sister of St. Joseph who was teaching kids with Down syndrome at St. Bernard’s Catholic School in Mt. Lebanon. This allayed Nancy’s fears as a new mom of a child with special needs.

Early on, Erin attended a Montessori School. She earned a high school degree, and now works part-time in communications at ACHIEVA and volunteers weekly at South Hills Interfaith Movement. She lives in a home with her two best friends, a home managed by Emmaus Community of Pittsburgh. Throughout her life, Erin has studied performing arts and has been a medalist with Special Olympics. She is on the board of PA Connecting Communities. 

“You have pretty much fulfilled all the dreams we had for you–in fact you exceeded them,” Bob Gannon said in the interview. “You’ve amazed us at some of the things you’ve accomplished–some of the places you’ve taken us. Like Special Olympics–going to Ireland to play in the World Games.”

The Quill award was bittersweet because Dr. Gannon died in December, after the publication of the interview.

Erin Gannon and the winning interview were featured recently in a popular Sunday column by the Post-Gazette’s Brian O’Neill—Erin Gannon is ready to interview anyone.