HPU Students Spread Love, Co-Host Special Populations Valentine’s Day Dance
High Point University’s chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) co-hosted a special populations Valentine’s Day Dance on Feb. 10 to spread love and kindness to people with physical and intellectual disabilities. Pictured were Trammell Miller and Tess Badway, junior special education majors, dancing with attendees in the Morehead Recreation Center.
HIGH POINT, N.C., Feb. 13, 2026 – High Point University’s chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) co-hosted a special populations Valentine’s Day Dance on Feb. 10 to spread love and kindness to people with physical and intellectual disabilities.
Students led adaptive Valentine’s-themed bingo games, craft making and dancing as well as shared cookies and snacks with community members at the Morehead Recreation Center in the city of High Point. The event was part of a long-standing tradition between HPU’s CEC and High Point Parks and Recreation’s ASPIRE (Adaptive Sports, Programs and Inclusive Recreation) unit.
HPU and ASPIRE have worked together to provide fun, holiday events that support individuals with intellectual or physical disabilities in the High Point community for the past 19 years. HPU’s CEC consists of students from across campus with a common interest in connecting with and promoting awareness for individuals with disabilities.
“I believe that students learn from their involvement in these ongoing holiday events because they see a direct impact firsthand,” said Cameran Brick, a political science major and secondary education minor who is co-vice president of HPU’s CEC. “For many students, this solidifies their future career plans. Students want to be a part of this event because it allows them to help the High Point community. When there is a chance to make an impact, students often take it.”
Brick, who is from Southington, Connecticut, said these types of events are a great way for students to get involved in the community and form new friendships.
“It’s important to show people in the community that these events highlight them, are for them and they have somewhere to belong,” said Robert Wallace, an elementary education major from Emerald Isle, North Carolina, who serves with Brick as co-vice president of HPU’s CEC.
“I think we need to be here to make sure they know we welcome them,” said Tess Badway, a special education major from Westborough, Massachusetts. “We will be teaching and hanging out with them in the schools. They are lovely to talk to.”
Volunteering with ASPIRE’s community events is good practice for special education majors as they prepare for their future careers, said Trammell Miller, a special education major who is also from Emerald Isle. “These community members deserve to have special holiday events like this too,” she said.
“Our ASPIRE unit through Parks and Recreation is very grateful for the wonderful relationship with High Point University,” ASPIRE Program Coordinator Stephanie Hedgecock said. “The partnership we have with them through the dances promotes inclusion and acceptance.”
Approximately 150 participants normally attend the events, Hedgecock said. The next special populations events will be the Halloween Dance on Oct. 20 at Miracle Field and the Christmas Dance on Dec. 1 at the Morehead Recreation Center.