City High student finds future, friend through program

IOWA CITY - An announcement over the City High School loudspeaker changed Caitlin Clougherty's life.

“I heard that there was this club for friendships,” Clougherty, 18, says.

That club is Best Buddies.

Best Buddies is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for one-to-one friendships. Best Buddies pairs people with intellectual disabilities with mainstream students to help special education students explore and participate in the high school experience.

Founded in 1989, Best Buddies has almost 1,500 chapters in middle and high schools and college campuses across the globe. City High's chapter was founded four years ago, when Caitlin Clougherty was a freshman.

She was partnered with Alex Walczyk, who has cerebral palsy. Alex's disability limits his ability to talk, but Caitlin says that's never hindered their communication.

“He has this really infectious smile,” Clougherty says. “So all I had to do was make him smile.”

For the past four years, Clougherty and Walczyk have experienced high school together. They've attended sporting events and school concerts. They have lunch together and greet each other in the hallways.

“She takes him everywhere,” says Lori Walczyk, Alex's mom. “The inclusion for Alex has been wonderful. He's treated like every other student at the high school and that's all he wants - to be with the other kids.”

But it's more than Best Buddies that has Clougherty and Walczyk spending time together. It's friendship, plain and simple.

“Alex has, honestly, become one of my best friends,” Clougherty says.

When Clougherty was elected homecoming queen, she asked him to walk with her onto the football field.

“She's given Alex a social outlet he wouldn't have had otherwise,” says Tom Braverman, a special education teacher at City High. Braverman has served as Best Buddies' faculty adviser, along with Brent DeNeice, since its inception.

“Without Caitlin, Alex would have been another special education student who was self-contained,” Braverman says.

Clougherty and Walczyk recently earned the High School Friendship of the Year award by Best Buddies Iowa, the state organization.

Clougherty, who serves as president of City High's chapter, also was named Chapter President of the Year.

“Caitlin is our fourth chapter president and she came in knowing she had some pretty big shoes to fill, but she set the bar high,” Braverman says.

Membership in Best Buddies has increased 25 percent this year, with 104 students involved. The number of group events, as well as the number of students participating in them, also has increased.

“We are the biggest club at City High,” Clougherty says.

The impact of that has spread to students not involved in the program, so much that they are aware of the program's mission and respect it.

“It has improved our school climate where they are not special education students, they are City High students,” Braverman says.

“I pass by Alex in the hall and he's too busy smiling and waving at everyone else to say hi to me,” Clougherty says with a laugh. “I want to say ‘Wait, you're supposed to be my buddy.'”

Clougherty recently received a teaching education scholarship award from the Iowa City school district's parent organization. She plans to study special education at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the fall.

“I knew I always wanted to be a teacher, but I just didn't know what kind of teacher,” she says.

She also didn't know if she could take on being president of Best Buddies in addition to her other school activities, including the diving team, soccer, choir and show choir. Still, she took on the challenge and discovered her future.

“I do this because I love it,” says Clougherty, who plans to focus on students with severe cognitive disabilities.

“My dream job is to be a special education teacher at City High,” she says.

“You're hired,” says Braverman.