By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
February 17, 2005

It is not uncommon for high school students to form friendships with classmates that can last a lifetime, but at Bishop Heelan High School in Sioux City some students have had the opportunity to build meaningful friendships with persons who have intellectual disabilities through a program called Best Buddies.

Morgan Sullivan, a junior at Heelan, serves as the chapter president of Best Buddies at the school.

Best Buddies is an international organization that was founded in 1989 by Anthony K. Shriver, Maria Shriver's brother. This is the third year that Heelan has been involved with the organization. Sullivan, who was a freshman when Best Buddies was introduced at the school, served as a peer buddy for two years before taking on the leadership role.

Sullivan pointed out that peer buddies are assigned a young adult with an intellectual disability.

"The peer buddies have to contact them once a week anyway they choose - e-mail, letters or on the phone. Twice a month, they must meet with them for an activity of their choice," she explained.

She mentioned that her assigned buddy from last year loved to bowl. This year's buddy loves to shop, so they go to the mall quite often.

The matches are made based on compatibility, such as if they like sports or animals.

She pointed out that she became involved in the program as a freshman because all of the teachers at the school encouraged students to participate in various activities in order to enhance their school experience. After attending an informational meeting about the program, she decided it was indeed something she wished to pursue.

"They show so much appreciation for the little things you do that it makes you appreciate little things even more," said Sullivan, who added that she could always tell that just a simple phone call meant so much to her buddy.

Presently, there are 17 Heelan students who serve as peer buddies and more than 20 other students are associate buddies. Associates are not matched up one-to-one, but they do attend meetings and are involved in large group activities and fund-raising for the program.

Large group activities thus far have included a match party at the beginning of the year where peer buddies had the chance to meet up with their assigned partner, the Heelan Homecoming Parade and a Christmas party. The program guidelines require two large group activities every semester. Coming up, the buddies will go bowling later this month and attend a special prom in the spring. The prom is a community-wide event as Heelan teams up with the local public high schools and Morningside College, all having local chapters of Best Buddies.

"We hire a D.J. and a photographer," said Sullivan, who resides in Jackson, Neb. "A lot of those kids - because they had special needs - didn't have a chance to go to prom. It is a chance for them to get all dressed up."

It was the experience she had in her first two years with the program that motivated her to apply to serve as the president of the school chapter. The faculty advisor, past chapter president and program manager from Des Moines selected Sullivan to serve as president based on her reliability and commitment to the program.

"My friendship with my buddy taught me so much about appreciation that I wanted to make sure the program kept going," said Sullivan. "The Best Buddies program wouldn't jump out to everyone, but it is much more fulfilling than a lot of other activities."

As president, one of her duties included helping to match up peer buddies with the persons who have disabilities. She also has to keep reports, making sure that the peer buddies follow through with weekly contacts and activities.

"It teaches you how to delegate and you have to have great communication skills. You have to make sure everyone knows exactly what you are talking about or the job doesn't get done," she said.

Sullivan has given numerous hours to Best Buddies and used her personal gifts of hard work and dedication to benefit the program. She quickly acknowledged, though, that she has gained much in return.

"I think these people are more gifted than the average because they don't judge you by how you look or what you are wearing. They look at you and they see a friend or a potential friend. They don't look at you as threatening," said Sullivan. "They have taught me more than I've taught them."

As a result of this program, she believes it has made her a more compassionate and patient person. For instance, in the past, if someone was holding up a line she said she probably would have gotten frustrated because some people's disabilities are not always apparent. Now, she knows there are often reasons behind it.

This past summer she participated in a four-day leadership camp for the program in Indiana. It taught such things as how to recruit members, match members, how to run meetings, do paperwork - things that she can apply in the future as well as for this program.

Serving others, she added, is not only part of one's Christian duty but it can be personally enriching.