Best Buddies was a club where kids came together and had fun. It was specifically for the kids in special education to make new friends.  On Tuesday, January 1, 2019, it was decided the club was over for SHS.

Jody Egan, the special education teacher, started the program when she first came to SHS. According to Egan, it was a lot to take on for a new teacher here. In her first two years, she was the supervisor for the program and mainly ran the club with the help of some students.

“It was too much more for me to handle on my own,” Egan said.

There were lots of students who helped Egan run the club, but two students that were really involved were juniors Jessica Quakenbush and Ella Hogan. According to Quakenbush and Hogan, lack of communication and sponsorship was the main cause to the closure of Best Buddies.

“There was one person doing more than others,” Quakenbush said.

The end of this club has definitely affected the members and leaders of this group. According to Quakenbush, it has already greatly affected her. The buddies won’t get to go on the annual leadership walk, they won’t get to go to prom and they won’t be able to attend the leadership conference. All things that were very special to the members of Best Buddies. They now won’t get to participate in a group that brings people together in a way that helps the buddies. However, it also has helped the supervisor, Egan, in many ways. According to Egan, the club was very stressful for her, and now she has time for other things, such as her family but she says that she will still miss the group.

“I enjoy hanging out with the kids, especially after school hours, because that’s when you really get to know them,” Egan said.

Although the club has ended for the year, Hogan says that they have found a sponsor and will resume the club next year. Even though the club has been terminated, the leaders still spend lots of time with their buddies and they are excited to spend the next year with them once more.