Students speak to meaning of wingman

0
358

NAUGATUCK — Sitting with someone who is alone at lunch and sticking up for someone who is being bullied are a couple of actions a wingman would take, City Hill Middle School student Haylee Kilfeather told the crowd gathered in front of the gazebo on the Town Green last Thursday night.

“You do not have to be a superhero in order to be a wingman,” said Kilfeather, one of several squadron leaders for the Wingman program at City Hill. “Sometimes the simplest of gestures can make someone’s day a bit brighter.”

Something else a wingman would do is organize an event to help raise awareness for autism.

Student-leaders involved in the Wingman program unveiled nearly two dozen large, wooden puzzle pieces during the “Light Up the Green Blue” event last week. The puzzle pieces, which are sponsored by local businesses and organizations, were painted by student volunteers and are now hanging on the Green and around downtown to raise awareness for autism. The puzzle pieces signify the complexity of the autism spectrum, according to the nonprofit organization Autism Speaks.

At the conclusion of last week’s event, Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess declared April National Autism Awareness Month in the borough and turned on blue lights hung on the gazebo. Blue is the color for autism awareness.

Hess said knowledge is power, and awareness of what autism is is critical.

The Wingman program has its roots in raising awareness for autism. The program is a part of Dylan’s Wings of Change, a foundation established in memory of Dylan Hockley, a student killed during the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012.

The foundation’s mission is to help children with autism and other related conditions achieve their full potential. Hockley’s father, Ian Hockley, helped start the Wingman program, which was launched in three schools across the state in 2015.

The goal of the Wingman program is to help students learn positive behaviors through a variety of activities throughout the school year.

Mia Grella, a City Hill student and Wingman squadron leader, said the program has expanded her comfort zone and helped her realize just how important it is to be somebody’s wingman.

“Being an active participant in Wingman has allowed me to feel a greater call to my community,” she said.

City Hill was one of the three schools in the state chosen to launch the Wingman program in 2015. Christina Rinaldi, a City Hill art teacher and Wingman adviser, said through the hard work and dedication of students and staff the program is now in 18 schools.

“We are super, super grateful that we were one of the first pebbles in this ripple effect to start this absolute change,” Rinaldi said. “These students are the change we want to see in this world.”