Each Sunday, vice president of Best Buddies Anna Gray (12) and Best Buddies member Ray Nakhle (11) talk on the phone about their weekend.

“It’s fun to have that connection with someone and realize that everyone is not so different,” Gray said. “We’re all connected. It’s something that I look forward to every week. It’s made my week a lot better and helped me be a better listener and better friend. It’s something he looks forward to too. It helps him make interpersonal relationships and interact with other people. That’s really important.”

The Best Buddies club meets weekly on Wednesdays and provides a space for students in special education classes to form connections with general education students, or peer buddies. Most members of the club are matched to one specific buddy, but all Westview students are welcome at the club as associate members. Gray has been in Best Buddies for all four years of high school. Now, she serves as the vice president of the club, matching buddies, planning activities, and running the weekly meetings. 

“It’s something that a lot of [the buddies] look forward to, like when you ask them what they’re doing this weekend and they say they’re hanging out with their buddy,” Gray said. “A lot of them look forward to the meetings.”

Robert Niciu (11), a student in a special education class, was also able to find an accepting community within the club.

“I started to go on Wednesdays to have lunch with other Best Buddies [in the club],” Niciu said. “At first, I just liked to observe what the others were doing. I didn’t know anybody, but over time, I started to meet people.”

For Niciu, joining Best Buddies gave him a chance to interact with students at Westview that he didn’t previously know. 

“Meeting people is really nice,” Niciu said. “The people in Best Buddies are always smiling and are in a good mood. Everyone is really kind.” 

Best Buddies President Roshan Shah (12) said that Best Buddies tries to organize a variety of activities so that everyone can participate. Additionally, they do activities outside of school such as caroling during the holiday season. 

“We do various games like bingo, or we do sporting events like kickball,” Shah said. “We want to make sure everyone’s included and keep people together because it is so inspiring to see that.”

Niciu’s experience in Best Buddies has been a positive one, allowing him to meet new people and participate in unique activities. 

“The activities, such as Trunk or Treat for Halloween, or going to football games together, are fun,” Niciu said. “There is no pressure to participate in all their activities. Last year, I went to a Best Buddies Prom, and it was a great party with dancing, games, and food.”

Gray is looking to expand the club after losing some members in the past few years. She looks forward to planning more events with other schools’ Best Buddies clubs to fill a need for inclusion in the community. 

“During the pandemic, Best Buddies didn’t have many members because it was hard for the buddies to communicate over Zoom,” Gray said. “We lost a lot of members, but we’re seeing people coming back. I’m hoping that we can get more members so that we can have a better ratio of peer buddies to buddies. I hope we can grow as a club and impact not just Westview, but the community.”

For Shah, Best Buddies is one big family, based on friendship and inclusion. He wants the club to improve these core values at Westview. 

“As a campus, we always have a way to improve,” Shah said. “We can make sure that everyone’s one cohesive family. We strive to do activities every month and make sure that everyone feels included.”

Similarly, Gray said the most rewarding part is seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces at Best Buddies. 

“Oftentimes, the buddies feel like they’re not included or they don’t have anyone to talk to,” Gray said. “Walking around campus, seeing the buddies, and saying ‘hi’ really brightens their day. I think everyone deserves to have a friend.”