JHS student Micah Fitzgerald 26’ entered her first day of sophomore year with the intention to create meaningful friendships in her new school. When she was paired with Aaron Sutherland 25’ through Best Buddies, she was sure her goal was not out of reach.
“I think being paired with a buddy is super special,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s an easier way to meet someone new without the anxiety of going up to someone.”
Best Buddies one-to-one connections focus on creating a deeper bond between the students in the club both with and without disabilities. It allows for all kinds of students to form friendships with one another that they may not have otherwise had the opportunity to create.
“There is a buddy coordinator that is a part of the leadership team and will connect you with someone with a common interest or someone you will match well with. Basically just a friendship that was given a little push,” Fitzgerald said.
The buddy coordinator surveys every member of Best Buddies. The surveys play a crucial role in deciding the one-to-one connections because they help match kids that have similar interests and personalities so they can build a stronger connection.
“Micah is really nice. Just talking to her is what makes it special to me,” Sutherland said.
Fitzgerald and Sutherland make it a priority to see each other during and outside of school hours. For both, it brightens their day just to see each other and simply say hello in the hallway.
“I like coming up to talk to him at lunch. Just those little conversations we have through the day whenever we get the chance to,” Fitzgerald said.
This last February, Sutherland turned 17 and threw a party to celebrate with his family and friends. The party was spent at the bowling alley where Fitzgerald and Sutherland got the chance to spend quality time together.
“My birthday party was my favorite thing. Micah got to meet my whole family almost and that was so fun,” Sutherland said.
Fitzgerald recently spent her whole summer in North Carolina with her family. This created a difficult situation for them to spend time together in person. As an alternative, they utilized social media to communicate and stay in touch.
“I have Aaron on Instagram and Snapchat and we send each other funny filters. We also FaceTimed a lot over the summer. I even got a full house tour on FaceTime,” Fitzgerald said.
Both Fitzgerald and Sutherland can agree they learned a lot through their friendship in only a year. They both learned a lot about each other as well as themselves, which helped them create a deeper level of understanding between each other.
“I think Best Buddies in general, let alone being paired with someone, helps you become more social and through being paired with Aaron I have learned skills on how to be more conversational and how to talk to different people,” said Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald can successfully say she made a meaningful connection during sophomore year that has now extended into her junior year. This year, she is the vice president for Best Buddies and an ambassador for Iowa.
“Being in a one-to-one connection is really enriching for both people and I just wanted to get that out of my experience in Best Buddies because I just thought it sounded so fun,” Fitzgerald said.
