Compared to previous years, Saint Cloud High School’s Best Buddies club has doubled in participants in the 2023-2024 school year. This club is all about pairing an exceptional student education (ESE) student with a general education student together to get closer and learn more about each other. The program also helps the ESE students realize that they are accepted in society. The director, Tabitha Shay, whose main job is to monitor and guide the events and members, and one of the committee heads, Rylee Hunt, has made a point to find every student a match and broadcast all the events they host. When Rylee says, “Only one buddy is left unpaired,” it goes to show that there’s been a soaring interest in the program, where 67 out of 68 buddies are paired with forever friends. Last year, multiple students were left unmatched due to the insufficient amount of peer buddies. Now that Saint Cloud High School has gained more than 500 new students, the club has grown tremendously. This could be attributed to their growing social media presence and improved planning. Ms. Shay shares that “getting to know my buddy was the most impactful part of my high school experience.” Even in previous years, the impact this club has made with its members has been extensive. Though this club has been around for years, it is now reaching its highest incline.