By Valentina Toro
Features Editor
In a campus environment where connection can be difficult, Best Buddies is building a community centered on inclusion and the belief that every student has value.
Best Buddies works to bring together students with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities, fostering friendships and building a more inclusive campus community. The organization aims to ensure that no student feels left out.
“It’s an organization where we take people that have mental and physical disabilities, and what we aim to do is get the community integrated,” special education major Quinn Eyrich, a junior and president of the organization, said.
The organization serves a wide range of students both on campus and in the surrounding community, including adults from Chapel Haven, welcoming anyone interested in building meaningful connections.
Eyrich said one of the most impactful aspects of Best Buddies is how it shifts perspectives.
Before joining, he said he was primarily focused on his own goals and experiences without considering how his actions affected others.
Through his involvement, however, Eyrich began to understand the importance of collaboration and empathy.
“When you blend everybody’s ideas together, everybody’s opinions, that’s when you can really function as a great part of society, and you can really help your community grow,” Eyrich said.
Beyond its broader mission, Best Buddies also creates deeply personal connections. For Eyrich, his friendship with his “best buddy,” Matty Biles, a student at Chapel Haven, stands out as one of his most meaningful experiences.
Eyrich said he was proud to introduce Biles to his fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon, where Biles later became a member. Seeing him welcomed into another community, Eyrich said, reinforced the organization’s message of inclusion.
Biles’ determination and positive outlook left a lasting impression.
Eyrich described him as hardworking and resilient, someone who consistently proves that limitations do not define a person’s potential.
“He’s one of the hardest working people I know, and it’s his ability to fight and tell everybody that he can do whatever he sets his mind to that really keeps him going,” Eyrich said.
Experiences like these reflect how Best Buddies extends beyond organized meetings or events.
The relationships built through the program often carry into other areas of campus life, helping to break down social barriers and challenge assumptions.
Looking ahead, Eyrich said one of his main goals for the organization is to increase awareness and ensure that more students feel encouraged to get involved.
Eyrich wants to make sure that people of all abilities know they have a place within the campus community.
He emphasized that inclusion is not just about participation but about creating spaces where individuals feel genuinely accepted and valued.
For him, that message is at the core of everything Best Buddies represents.
“Our biggest message is everybody’s welcome,” Eyrich said. “Nobody should feel out of place here, and that’s what I love about this place. Everybody’s accepted, and everybody can have fun.”
