Glenbard West High School freshman Sarah Bak is on the Junior Varsity Dance Team, which practices about seven hours a week. She also ice skates competitively.
Is she just another busy teenager? Not really.
Longtime Principal Peter Monaghan said Sarah might be the first student with Down syndrome to make the dance team and to be elected to the homecoming court.
“More than anything, this act shows the caring of our students and how much they appreciate the diversity of the student body, especially the differently abled. Our students stand up and support one another, and that is just great to see,” Monaghan said.
For Sarah, it was about pursuing something she loves.
“I like to dance, and I thought it would be a really fun thing to do,” she said.
“I thought it was really cool to show off my dance routine,” she said about her first performance.
Dance team coach Ashley Nelson said she enjoys having Sarah on the team and appreciates what she’s learned since Sarah joined.
“I find that we are all more similar than different,” Nelson said. “It is amazing to see how everyone works with her and comes together to support her and make dance routines that emphasize everyone’s strengths.”
Sarah heard about the homecoming honor when she was pulled from class and led to a conference room decorated with streamers. There, with the other winners, Sarah read the message on the smart board, “Welcome to the Homecoming Court.”
When asked what it means to her, she said, “It means that people like me and think that I am a nice person. It is a very big honor.”
Sarah’s parents, Dan and Lora Bak, said they couldn’t be happier about their daughter’s acceptance.
“Lora and I have been so impressed with the student body and faculty at Glenbard West because they have been so accepting of the students with disabilities,” Dan Bak said. “The school is genuinely so supportive of these students with disabilities and they know this and it just naturally makes them want to do better.”
Sarah knows what it takes.
“Just try your best and don’t quit!” she said.
