From the magazine: A friend in me

Best Buddies changes lives one relationship at a time

Story by Maggie Phelps

Photos by Kaitlyn Webb

Design by Hanna Kronfeld

Editor’s Note: This article was originally released in Issue 18 of the WKU Talisman print magazine. Click here to read more articles from the Talisman’s semesterly print.

The buzzing of conversation and laughter can be heard from the hallway near DSU Nite Class. Creativity flows inside the room as Best Buddies members create handwritten positive affirmations for passersby in DSU during their “Spread the Love” event. This synergy is the core of Best Buddies.

Best Buddies International has active programs in all 50 states as well as 46 countries, according to the Best Buddies website. In Bowling Green, the WKU chapter connects members with disabilities with college students to create one-on-one connections. The local Buddy House and The HIVE offer off-campus resources for individuals with developmental disorders. The Buddy House is exclusive to members with down syndrome, while The HIVE includes all disabilities. 

Presley Nash, a Bowling Green native and inclusivity director of Best Buddies, said that spending time with college students is one of the most exciting parts of being a member of Best Buddies. 

“It makes me feel like I am involved,” Nash said. “It’s important because I am typically not around college students, and I like how they involve not only me, but everyone.”

Students in Best Buddies have the option to remain as a general member who attends club meetings and events, or take on the commitment of having a peer “buddy,” a member with a disability, and establish a one-on-one connection. 

Peer buddies are paired together through a matching process based on interests and other general qualities. Nash, who has Down syndrome, has found her most important connection through her buddy Madison Harralson, a junior from Princeton, Kentucky. 

Every year, there is a peer buddy reveal where all the pairings reveal themselves to each other. Nash was unable to attend her reveal, so Harralson planned something special for the two of them. 

“I was able to go to The HIVE, and I walked in the front door, and I had my friend video, and I met with her,” Harralson said. “It was really sweet, and I think I had a little treat or something for her.”

For member Gia Soucie and her buddy Ginna Greer, the two celebrated their pairing through a matching sock reveal. Greer and Nash share a special connection by being best friends with each other. 

“Her buddies are friends with my buddy, and then we’re all just buddies together,” Harralson said. “It doesn’t matter who’s with who, we’re all just friends. One of Presley’s good friends is Ginna, and she works at the Meltdown, and eventually I want to try to go see Ginna at the Meltdown with Presley and surprise Ginna.”

Soucie and Greer met at this year’s match party, but have already established a meaningful connection despite their match being new, Soucie said. 

“We literally text each other everyday. It’s more of, ‘How’s your day going? How was work? What are you doing this weekend?’” Soucie said. “It’s just kind of like just a friend, not really being forced to be Best Buddies.”

Nash and Harralson are also able to share a special connection together through Harralson’s sorority Alpha Delta Pi (ADPi), Harralson said. 

“Her mom was an ADPi when she was in college, so Presley feels as if she is an ADPi legacy,” Harralson said. 

This connection was emphasized when Nash participated in her favorite Best Buddies event, Fashion 4 Friendship, in February. In this annual fashion show, members of Best Buddies are paired individually with a sorority or a fraternity in an effort to raise money for the organization.

“Me and a few other ADPi girls got on stage with Presley, and we choreographed a little dance number, and we decked her all out in our blue and white, and it was so much fun,” Harralson said. “It was actually really special.”

Best Buddies Secretary Madi Conn, a junior from Louisville, has been paired with her buddy, Junior Morgan, since her freshman year. 

“He’s just an awesome person, and I get to do a lot of things with him and his mom,” Conn said. “Family involvement is very important in this club, and I think one of the things that made it so special is they invite me to things that they normally do as a family.”

For Soucie, it is important to share a connection with her buddy’s family as well.

“I text her mom a lot, and her dad always says hi to me,” Soucie said. “I always feel like I know what’s going on with their life and stuff. We just had the Best Buddies fashion show, and me and Ginna took pictures, and I sent them to her mom, and she was like, ‘Oh my god, I love them.’”

Conn and Morgan participated in the Best Buddies Spread the Love event on March 4 where club members made cards and handed them out to people around Downing Student Union. 

Morgan said that Spread the Love is his favorite Best Buddies event and that he enjoys making people smile and spending time with Conn. 

“She’s too much fun,” Morgan said. 

After the pair made a few cards together, they went to play cornhole, Morgan’s favorite game. 

“Being an officer, I’m able to really know the buddies, communicate with the buddies, or their parents or guardians, and that’s really fun,” Conn said. “I just try to talk to everybody I can, because they’re all so sweet, and I love them.”

Nash and Harralson also made cards together at the March event. Nash socialized with her peers by talking to the members at her table and sharing inspiration for how to decorate their card. 

“I want them to know that even if it’s not a Best Buddies topic, that they can come to me for anything,” Nash said. “I like helping, because I would want to know who I could go to if I needed help.” 

Harralson said Nash leaves an impact on others in Best Buddies. 

“I think the meetings are all about spreading kindness and spreading love, which is super sweet, because that’s definitely something that Presley represents so well every time we’re at a Best Buddies event,” Harralson said. “She always wants to make people feel loved, and that’s what I love to see from her.”

Soucie said she finds her connection to Best Buddies through giving back to all of the members involved.

“It makes me feel good to know that these kids are being very involved because it hurts when you’re left out,” Soucie said. “I know a lot of kids are non-verbal, kids that can’t walk very well, can’t walk or are in wheelchairs, it is very, very hard for them to feel included.”

Soucie said she has a dedication to Best Buddies she feels is bigger than her. 

“I don’t go there and be like, ‘Yeah, I feel so great about myself because I’m doing this for me,’” Soucie said. “It’s more of, ‘I’m going there to be like a best friend, a supporter and all this stuff for them.’”

Harralson said she encourages Nash by supporting her small business, Presley’s Promise. 

For 11 years, Nash has run Presley’s Promise, creating stickers, signs, magnets and more. All of her proceeds go to supporting homeless outreach in Warren County. 

“I started volunteering at the homeless shelters, and then I realized one Christmas how much I had versus what they had,” Nash said.

She said that her fellow members will buy whatever she is selling at the time to support her. Presley’s Promise can be found on Facebook.

“I try to go on Facebook and share all of her posts and give her a lot of engagement on her post,” Harralson said. “She does give me crafts for free, which is so much fun. So then I get to go around and tell my friends about it and really support her, and I try to share her business in my sorority group chat, because she does make stickers, and what college girl doesn’t like stickers?”

Conn said whether through a one-on-one connection or being a general member, there is a need for every relationship in Best Buddies. 

“I think the most important thing I’ve learned is just that inclusion and kindness is so important, and to just put yourself out there and get to know all kinds of different people because everyone has a story,” Conn said.