HPU Students Co-Host Special Populations Christmas Dance
High Point University’s student chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children recently helped make the holidays brighter for community members with physical or intellectual disabilities. Cameran Brick, a sophomore political science major with a minor in secondary education, was pictured at left dancing with community members in the Nathaniel S. Morehead Recreation Center gym.
HIGH POINT, N.C., Dec. 5, 2025 – High Point University’s student chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) recently helped make the holidays brighter for community members with physical or intellectual disabilities.
HPU’s CEC co-hosted a Special Populations Christmas Dance with High Point Parks and Recreation’s Adaptive Sports, Programs and Inclusive Recreation (ASPIRE) on Dec. 2 at the Nathaniel S. Morehead Recreation Center.
“Events like the Special Pops Christmas Dance give individuals with special needs in the High Point community opportunities for social engagement, fun and inclusion,” said HPU CEC President Madison Kattke, a sophomore special education major from Doylestown, Pennsylvania. “A lot of our students are education majors, so this is our way of engaging with the community and being able to see people we would not normally interact with. Many people who come to visit with us are older adults, so that’s a bit of a different dynamic that our education majors haven’t experienced yet. In general, these are people they’re going to see out in the community, so learning how to interact with them is important and really special.”
Cameran Brick, a sophomore political science major with a minor in secondary education, helped provide arts and crafts activities for the event. Participants played bingo to win prizes and made foam crafts to take home.
“We have snowmen, reindeer and even dinosaurs so they can choose whatever they want to make,” said Brick, who is from Southington, Connecticut. “We’re impacting the community. It’s good to see people in our community being very happy. We live here, so why not make an impact?”
Robert Wallace, a sophomore elementary education major, agreed it is important for students to know there are people in the community with disabilities and to make sure they are seen and integrated into the culture.
“Activities like this open the eyes for students,” said Wallace, who is from Emerald Isle, North Carolina, and served as the CEC event coordinator. “Planning events around activities reminds me of planning activities for lessons in class. It directly correlates to what I’m doing to plan activities for this.”
Consisting of students from across campus with a common interest in promoting awareness and providing support, HPU’s CEC has co-hosted these types of annual events for the past 18 years. Through these events, HPU students connect with, develop friendships and support individuals with disabilities in the High Point community.
Participants celebrate the holidays in a safe and welcoming environment while creating joyful memories they may not otherwise experience, Kattke said. In addition to making crafts, participants enjoyed eating pizza, dancing and visiting Santa Claus.
Approximately 150 participants normally join the event, said Stephanie Hedgecock, ASPIRE program coordinator.
“The inclusion piece is what is so important for our guys to be here with High Point University students,” Hedgecock said. “They dance and play games with them. They meet these guys, and then later when they see them out in the community, they’re friends. The inclusion is the most important thing.”
The next special populations event will be the Valentine’s Dance at Morehead Recreation Center on Feb. 10, 2026.