Hannah Flynn, a Cranston West and Cranston Area Career and Technical Center (CACTC) senior, was recently notified that she has received the Light the Way scholarship from Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Flynn is a student in the education pathways program at CACTC and started the Best Buddies program at Cranston West. It is a chapter of the national organization, which seeks to pair up students who have intellectual and developmental disabilities with those who do not. The program at Cranston West is one of 2500 chapters worldwide.

Flynn applied for and received the scholarship from Assumption thanks to her community service and civic activities.

“My mom is an alumni of the school,” she said. “When I went for my interview, the lady brought it up. The Light the Way scholarship is about civic leadership and your impact on your community. From there, I applied and I had to write an essay and send a video and show how I light the way in my community, especially with Best Buddies.”

More than 400 students applied for the Light the Way scholarship.

The video Flynn submitted with her application and essay showed her younger brother, Kerion Flynn, singing the national anthem when he was younger. Kerion, who has autism, is currently an eighth-grade student and will be attending Cranston West next fall.

“I wanted him to have a true high school experience,” she said.

Once Flynn decided she wanted to start a Best Buddies chapter at Cranston West, she approached the school administration about starting an inclusion committee and a local chapter of the program. She met with staff and emailed students in order to gauge interest. She worked together with Assistant Principal David Schiappa to get a grant to help start the Best Buddies chapter.

“The small cafeteria was packed on the day we held the first interest meeting,” she said. “I ran for president and the chapter was started.”

Flynn then decided to expand to the middle schools in Cranston and especially focused on the school where her brother is currently a student, helping to set up a chapter there as well.

“It’s a huge, huge group,” she said. “We had to move the first meeting to another room because there was so much interest.”

A Best Buddies match party was held at Cranston West with a carnival theme. Students who had intellectual and developmental disabilities were matched up with students who did not.

“We had a lot of fun at that event. We watched ‘The Greatest Showman’ and had popcorn and food,” she said. “Now they meet twice a month and commit to texting or emailing at least once a week. There are approximately 60 students here who are in the chapter.”

A fully inclusive flag football game is planned for the springtime, in addition to other upcoming events.

Flynn also attended the Best Buddies leadership conference in Indianapolis this past summer, joining the presidents of all the other chapters from all over the world.

“We had classes where we learned how to delegate and how to have a successful chapter,” Flynn said. “It was the most inspiring experience. When I got back to West I had a team leadership meeting, and we went over everything I’d learned and we planned out for the year. So far, it’s all working very well.”

Flynn has not yet committed to Assumption, but she has a very specific career plan in mind no matter the school to which she commits. She plans to a follow a similar path as her mother, who is an elementary education/special education teacher.

“I want to start off in elementary education, and get certified in that and in special education,” she said. “Then, while I’m teaching in the classroom, I want to go to law school and become a lawyer with a special education concentration.”

Flynn hopes the Best Buddies chapters that she has helped to start will continue in Cranston long after she has graduated.

“I hope that it will be a safe haven for all kids with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” she said. “I hope that it will be a place where they can find friends.” 1