Written by Jack Freedman
Best Buddies is a University of Mary Hardin-Baylor student organization that helps to mentor young adults with developmental disorders. On Monday, Sept. 22, at Hardy Hall, Best Buddies held an introductory game night from 6 to 8 p.m. This gave the Best Buddies a chance to meet the disabled people with whom they will be working this semester.
鈥淲hen I was a little girl, I enjoyed going to school with my grandmother, who taught first grade, and I was always most interested in helping her students in her class with disabilities,鈥� special education professor Dr. Emily Smith said. 鈥淚 have a philosophy that all children can learn. It just takes some individuals with disabilities need a little extra support in order to learn the same skills.鈥�
The students who run Best Buddies have a passion for helping disabled people, often stemming from helping disabled relatives or working with disabled children.
鈥淚鈥檝e been in Best Buddies for two years,鈥� Best Buddies President Cassidy Hook said. 鈥淚 have a cousin with special needs, and working with people with special needs means a lot to me. I went to private school, so I never got a chance to join an organization like PALS [Peer Assistance and Leadership], so getting to join Best Buddies has meant a lot to me.鈥�
At the beginning of each semester, each member is partnered with two people whom they will mentor.
鈥淲e get together with our buddies once or twice a month and go out to dinner, have a Bible study, or just hang out,鈥� Hook said. 鈥淚 hope that I鈥檝e had a strong impact on their lives.鈥�
All people involved in Best Buddies hope that this program will help outsiders to realize that disabled people have the same desires despite their physical differences. They hope that by being friends to those who have been rejected by society, they can show the world that disabled people are just like them.
鈥淏est Studies not only introduces our students on campus to individuals with disabilities, but it also allows them the opportunity to build lifelong friendships with other members in their community,鈥� said Smith. 鈥淭hey have the same dreams and aspirations. It just might take them a different road to get to where we get. They want to have friends. They want to have relationships. Many of them want to work. And so, it's important that we recognize that just because they learn differently doesn't mean that they are actually any different.鈥�
After the party was over, the students were assigned to mentor two people with disabilities. Each group of buddies will remain close for the rest of the semester.
鈥淸I鈥檓 looking forward to] having an event buddy get to know them better and understand where they're coming from and all your points,鈥� disabled person Mary Smith said. 鈥淚 know they're different than we are, but that's okay. I look at it like I'm different. I feel like special needs is hard on me. I've got all this bad stuff happening. But I'm getting better.鈥�
