Stories
Geoffrey in the news
The annual Gog for Geoffrey in Alamosa, Colorado donated all funds from their June 2019 event to Independent Identity. From the Alamosa Valley Courier:
This year’s donation was presented to valley native Jenna Taylor as the first donation to her budding organization…As a high schooler in Alamosa, Taylor took part in a Peer Buddy class and became very close to Geoffrey Zaragoza…The passing of Geoffrey happened right at that
time while Taylor was trying to make a decision about her future.
Taylor saw a path and decided to take the steps towards her goal. The Alamosa graduate went on to study special education and..would collect her Master’s Degree in Autism and Applied Behavior Analysis.
With her degree Taylor began making an impact in a field where she felt she belonged, doing one-on-one therapy for individuals with autism for years while also supervising graduate students who wished to follow in her footsteps.
Read the entire article to view plans for Independent Identity and the hurdles Jenna faces in expanding the organization.
By jnt1986 |
Geoffrey’s Story
Independent Identity Founder and Executive Director Jenna Taylor’s passion for working with teenagers and adults with autism began in high school when she was involved in a class called “Peer Buddy”.
There she met her friend Geoffrey Zaragoza. Geoffrey was born with an enlarged heart, although this was not known by his family. At 18 months old Geoffrey was diagnosed with a seizure disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder- PDD-NOS.
Geoffrey loved fishing, Mountain Dew, and assisting his dad with the cross country and track teams as manager. Geoffrey had so many special gifts that far outweighed any of his limitations. He was funny, and quite a comedian! He never met a stranger and left everyone he encountered with a smile. In December 2003, Geoffrey’s great big heart stopped beating and he passed away. After this devastating loss, Jenna made the decision to study special education after graduation. Since then, Geoffrey continues to be a guiding light in Jenna’s life and is the inspiration for Independent Identity.