State Honoree

Elizabeth Lipp, 16, of Mountain Brook, Ala., a junior at Mountain Brook High School, is co-president of a club that brings special education students together with her school’s general student body to improve social skills and foster friendships and a respect for differences. Since junior high school, Elizabeth has been involved in outreach programs for special education students. So when she got to high school, she immediately gravitated toward a service club called “Circle of Friends” that sought to help students with disabilities and their nondisabled peers get to know each other and feel more comfortable in social situations. “It was a dying club,” said Elizabeth. “I fought endlessly to revive interest from the student body.”

With the support of her school’s administration, Elizabeth organized a “Circle of Friends Celebration Week” to honor teachers and students in the special education department. For the celebration, she and her volunteers solicited donations from local businesses, persuaded community members to donate meals, and organized special events. She then began running monthly breakfast socials for club members and special education students, and revived a “buddy” program that pairs students for weekly lunches, field trips, and after-school activities such as bowling and baseball. “Our club has allowed typical students to see differently-abled peers as friends,” Elizabeth said.