Junior Kesley Hoover said she dislikes that it is not considered normal for people with disabilities to be friends with those without disabilities.
As director of Ball State University's Best Buddies program, Hoover and other group members build friendships with adults who have intellectual disabilities.
Hoover considers her buddy, or person with an intellectual disability, to be one of her best friends and the one whom she enjoys spending time with the most, she said.
It takes patience, but most of all heart, to do what Hoover and other members of the Best Buddies program do, she said.
Ball State and the Best Buddies program are celebrating Disabilities Awareness and Best Buddies Awareness this month in an attempt to educate people about different disabilities on campus, she said.
"We celebrate Disabilities Awareness Month to help break the invisible barrier between people with and people without disabilities," Hoover said. "We try to merge two worlds that should have never been separated."
Best Buddies Awareness month is a time to celebrate the differences the buddies and college buddies have made in each others' lives.
Junior Sarah Groth, Best Buddies activities coordinator, said this month is a time to raise awareness on campus.
"We will have picnics and other events to get the campus involved and to spread the word about disabilities," Groth said.
Hoover said the Best Buddies program was started internationally in 1989 and reached Ball State two years ago. The Ball State Best Buddies chapter works with Hillcroft Services, an agency in Muncie that recommends people with disabilities to the program, she said.
Robin Cline, host site coordinator for Hillcroft, said college students and buddies fill out applications, and then Hillcroft and Hoover decide on who should be paired with whom. Each student and buddy are paired together for a year, Cline said.
"We provide innovative services and supports for people with disabilities and their families, resulting in extraordinary differences in people's lives," she said.
Hoover said the friendship is not just for the benefit of the buddy, though.
"It is rewarding for the college students because they learn patience and that your life isn't as bad as you think it is," she said.
Despite having a disability, buddies are happy-go-lucky people, Hoover said.
"A lot of them are just happy to be who they are and who they're with," she said. "It's about who they are, not about how bad their life is."
Groth said she is paired with a girl who speaks in one- or two-word phrases, so it takes her a while to figure out what her buddy is saying. Patience is key for both her and her buddy, though, she said.
"A lot of the time we don't even know our buddy's specific diagnosis," Groth said. "As soon as you meet them, you look past that."
Junior Megan Keusch, e-buddy coordinator, said the buddies live their lives to the fullest.
"It is inspiring to be around them," Keusch said.
The program gives the buddies a chance to hang out with someone who does not have a disability, so it helps with their social skills, Keusch said. People often have trust issues with people they don't know, but not the buddies, she said.
"They trust you until you break the trust," Keusch said. "We, on the other hand, have to gain people's trust."
Their outlook on life is totally different than ours, she said.
A majority of the buddies live in a group home, and Keusch said she will often visit on Fridays to color, do crafts and hang out.
"I love it," she said. "They're great to be around."
Jen Nucciarone, college buddies program manager, said Ball State has been an exceptional chapter and last year won both the Best Buddies Chapter Award for Indiana and the International Award. For the International award, the Ball State program filled out an application and then went above and beyond by sending a video, beating out 200 other schools, Nucciarone said.
The reason Ball State's chapter has been so outstanding is because of its commitment to making people outside of the program aware of disabilities, she said.
Hoover and the Ball State chapter had a pizza-eating contest last year open to all members of campus. Hoover also makes all the college buddies create a journal to make sure it is a true friendship they are forming with their buddy, Nucciarone said.
Ball State is one of 16 Indiana schools to implement the Best Buddies program, including Indiana, Purdue and Notre Dame universities. Best Buddies also has programs in every other state and in 29 different countries, such as England, Brazil and Australia.
For more information about the Best Buddies program visit:bestbuddies.orgbestbuddiesindiana.orgbestbuddies.iweb.bsu.edu
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
