Best Buddies is a very popular and valued program at WJ. Each year, the entire Best Buddies team puts on an assembly, flaunting the unique characteristics of the program. This year the assembly occurred on December 23, 2016 the day before winter break and it was a hit! The crowd was well engaged, encouraging and cheering for each and every performance.

At the close of the assembly, the Best Buddies team danced to some fun music, allowing individuals to show off their best moves. Senior Delaney Dunnigan, an officer in Best Buddies, gave a speech, discussing what it is like to have a learning disability and the positive impact that Best Buddies has had on her life. Afterwards, junior Nick Gillespie, another officer in Best Buddies, gave his speech, telling the crowd his personal story of how Best Buddies completely changed his life for the better.

Gillespie contained lots of nerves when he finally got up on stage, but he was able to push them aside and give a moving speech.

“I was really nervous about my speech, but when I actually began to speak it, it was fine. I forgot the audience was there, but I knew they were hearing me out,” Gillespie said.

There are many reasons why it is necessary to have the Best Buddies assembly annually at WJ.

“It’s important to have a Best Buddies assembly like this because we want the school school to understand and be better informed on exactly what we’re doing and how we’re contributing to our school’s happiness,” Gillespie said.

The Best Buddies assembly is always a success, evoking joy from not only the audience, but the people participating in the assembly as well.