It all started with a simple question: “I thought, ‘I am in cheerleading. Why can’t they be in cheerleading too?’” asked Denver South High School Senior Christina De Luna. For any team – particularly a cheerleading squad – practice is about pursuing perfection. For De Luna, who is one of about two dozen cheerleaders on Denver South’s cheerleading team, that pursuit felt unfulfilling around the beginning of the season. De Luna found deeper meaning when she stepped into the Special Education classroom at Denver South and met three girls: Lisa Carter, Elaine Valverde and Halei Carrino. “They mean a lot to me,” De Luna said. As she got to know Lisa, Elaine and Halei, Christina also discovered her heart for helping students with special needs. She plans to work in the special education field after graduating college. The more time Christina spent with her new friends, the more she thought about how much they belonged with her Denver South cheer family. “I didn’t really want to see them in the background. I wanted them to be a part of a club and do something and to be a part of something,” De Luna said. It’s when Christina asked that simple question – why couldn’t her special needs students join her on the team? The answer: nobody had asked. Christina broke that mold, and when she asked her students whether they wanted to be a part of her team, they responded with a profound answer: “YES!” Denver South Cheerleading Coach Meredith Barrow connected with DPS Athletic Director John Andrew, who provided the funds to ensure Lisa, Elaine and Halei could have their own uniforms. It was that fulfilling thing she had always been looking for on the cheerleading team. South’s Inclusive Cheerleading Team is the first in Denver Public Schools, and one of a growing number of Special Olympics Unified Sports teams throughout DPS. Lisa, Elaine and Halei attend the team’s cheerleading practice each week, cheer at most basketball games – whether varsity or Unified Sports – and climb on the shoulders of their teammates to be on top of the pyramids during football season games. For De Luna, the idea that a simple question could have such a powerful impact on her team was something she never anticipated. “They’ve gone a long way. Since the beginning, they were really shy and not very outgoing. Now you can see a totally different person in them.” Not only do the new cheerleaders see themselves differently, but the team’s original members have also realized a compelling fact: that opening doors and seeing people for who they can be has a way of changing all of us. “We can accomplish anything and become something so much more than just cheerleaders,” said De Luna. “At the end of the day, it makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something, because of all that these girls are accomplishing on our team.”

• published: 12 Mar 2015
• views: 4473