It’s a typical Friday night for Highland High School. Students, teachers, and the entire community have congregated to watch the Rams battle an opponent on the basketball court. But tonight, no eyes are on the scoreboard, or even the team. The cheerleaders have stolen the show. Well… one cheerleader.

She’s new to the squad, and most people have never seen her before. She radiates spirit from the sidelines. Everyone agrees she’s the cutest by far, and everyone wants to meet her. Her name is Sam, and this whole night of basketball has been dedicated to her.

Sam, at five years old, is the ultimate combination of sass, spunk, and sweetness. She has a fighting spirit, yet, is struggling in her battle with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a bone cancer. Over the last several weeks, Highland High has teamed up with the Make-A-Wish foundation to raise money for Sam, and grant her wish of meeting Princess Aurora in Walt Disney World in Florida.

During the annual Talents and Traditions assembly in January, Daniel Dudley, a representative from Make-A-Wish, visited Highland on Sam’s behalf. Along with the student body officers, Dudley introduced us to Sam through a slideshow of her favorite things. In that assembly alone, we collected our first thousand dollars for Sam. Dudley has been a part of this sort of fundraising at several other schools, 18 this year, and admires Highland students specifically for their enthusiasm.

“Just by being here and seeing your school’s spirit, I can tell this is going to be one of the best experiences we have this year,” Dudley said.

Since that assembly, students have been donating daily in class. Teachers have proclaimed war against each other in the friendly battle of raising more money in each of their classes. Thanks to the excitement and generosity of both our staff and student body, we have raised $5296.34 cents for Sam, and are about halfway to our goal of 10,000. With less than two weeks until the spirit bowl, we are officially in crunch time. Teachers are exciting their students more than ever to bring in money. Enticements such as free work days, breakfast in class, and other bonuses are being used to persuade.

Sam will be the queen of the spirit bowl. She will sit upon a student made thrown of purple and pink ribbon and flowers, and be presented what will hopefully be enough money to grant her wish. Sam’s mother, Heather, is both touched and grateful for the energy that Highland has put towards her daughters benefit. Watching Sam cheer on the sidelines as an honorary squad member, and hearing chants of, “We can do it!” brought tears to her eyes, as well as he rest of the gymnasium’s.

“In the cancer world, there’s really no way of describing your emotions,” Heather said. “You think that growing up you learn what it means to be happy, and what it means to be sad. But seeing your daughter on her death bed, and then rise again, it’s just incredible.”

While on the sideline, Sam proudly presented her leg and scar to the cheer coaches. She bragged of the “little robot” that they placed inside her leg where the cancer once was. Afterwards, a coach asked if she wanted to do a stunt with some of the cheerleaders. Her initial wariness wore off quickly, and when her mom asked if she was too scared or tired, she replied proudly, “I can handle anything!”

This high-spirited girl has officially won the hearts of Highland High. She has brought our school together with a common goal, and raised our spirits. There is no better way to thank her than to help her handle the one thing she can’t do on her own. Donations can be made every day up until the spirit bowl! There is a link on the Highland home page where online donations can be made. Share this link with family, friends, and neighbors, so that the Highland High community as a whole can send our dear friend, Sam, to Disney World!