When senior Abby Taylor walks into the special education room, the friendly faces of her peers greet her. Taylor, like the other student helpers of the Friends in Learning program, does everything from helping students with special needs with school work to walking them out to the bus at the end of the day.

Friends in Learning is a program where students befriend and help students with special needs. Since the 2011-12 school year, when Friends in Learning was first introduced, only seniors were allowed to apply to help with the students with special needs. Currently, there are 15 seniors in the Friends in Learning program. This low enrollment has caused a need for change. As of next year, juniors will be able to apply to be a friend as well.

During course selection meetings, current sophomores and juniors were offered applications for the program. The student fills out a one page application and has to submit two teacher letter of recommendations. Once a student is accepted, he or she will have Friends in Learning as an elective class for one semester.

Taylor said she thinks the inclusion of juniors will have many benefits.

“I think the addition is a good idea,” Taylor said. “We have a lot of younger students who have special needs and they need younger friends to help them too, not just older friends.”

Special education teacher Amanda Wondra-Appl agrees that the inclusion of juniors is a good idea, but she said there are no plans to extend the program to freshmen and sophomores.

“I think it is a great addition to MV,” Wondra-Appl said. “Friends need to be mature and be in the program for the right reasons. We are looking for positive role models that can concentrate on making connections.”

A special exception to this rule is sophomore Ashley Creiger who has been helping the students in the program during seminar since her freshman year. Creiger was invited because during her freshmen girls Physical Education class she befriended some of the students enrolled and helped them. Creiger said she appreciates the exception.

“I’ve learned how to work better with kids and what makes them happy,” Creiger said. “[I like] watching them grow and expand their knowledge.”

Despite the challenging parts, Taylor said there are many rewarding aspects of the program.

“It’s really fun; it’s having a friend who always cares about you,” Taylor said. “I really enjoy it because it allows me to help my peers and it allows me to connect with them more.”

One of the students in the program, freshman Estefania Mayorga, said that she enjoys having the helpers around.

“We play around together,” Mayorga said. “We do things like high five and hug and do work boxes together.”

Wondra-Appl said Friends in Learning benefits not only the students enrolled, but the students who help as friends as well.

“The benefits of the program include, but are not limited to, building a more accepting community at MV, and creating lasting friendships between students,” Wondra-Appl said.

“Students gain skills in working with a diverse population and positively impact people’s lives for years to come.”

Taylor said the program is helpful because it teaches valuable lessons.

“I’ve learned to have a lot of patience,” Taylor said. “I’ve learned about how the kids are and how they thrive when you give them compliments … I’ve become more encouraging.”

Creiger recommends other students to apply and said she thinks the program is important.

“[It’s important] because it shows people that these kids struggle with things just like we do,” Creiger said. “I would tell anyone who wants to attempt to get into the program to do so because it’s really fun and you learn a lot.”