B en Melody doesn’t know it yet as he sits at a table located just steps out the backdoor of Gilbert High School on a warm Monday afternoon in mid-September, but he’s just four days away from being named Homecoming King. His ascent to school royalty should come as a surprise to no one though. He’s smart. Articulate. A friend to anyone and everyone who needs someone in their corner. Peers gravitate to him in happy times and cling to him in times of pain. Ben has his hands in a lot of Gilbert’s cookie jars, so to speak, but it’s a group he helped form outside of the school walls that he’s most proud of though. It puts a sparkle in his eyes and a swell in his chest. The other founding members — fellow Gilbert seniors Adelaide Searles, Weston Congdon, Dalton Nelson, and Aidan Wimmer — feel the same way, and they see Ben as their leader. Truthfully, it’s Ben’s baby. It has been from the start. “Oh yeah, Ben’s the leader. For sure,” one person says before the other three quickly agree when they’re all sitting together. Ben is sitting there too, and his cheeks flush with em- barrassment at their agreement.
What the group has created is monumental, both in its current form and for what it will continue to be in the years to come. And while it may not be a Gilbert Schools organization, you better believe it’s for Gilbert Schools and its students in both the present and the future. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Moving Forward — an organization for students by students. “We want to make Gilbert better for the fu- ture,” Ben says, “and to have a true impact we needed it to be completely us.” What started as just an idea among a group of friends that now consider each other family last December has become one of the most recognizable organizations around Gilbert High School. Simply put, Ben and his peers have made teen mental health awareness and inclusivity cool inside the walls of Gilbert High School. That it’s been done so quickly is nothing short of remarkable. Their events, six in all since the kickoff in March, have steadily drawn bigger and bigger crowds with September’s Movie Night bring- ing in more than 170 students — nearly a third of the high school student body — for an
evening of fun and togetherness. It surpassed the previous record crowd of more than 150 students that attended a bonfire in July. There are Facebook (Moving Forward) and Instagram (@movingforward50014) accounts with hundreds of followers. There’s a Venmo account (@MovingForward43) for anyone who would like to contribute to their cause. There are wristbands for sale in the Tiger Den. And, soon enough, there will be merch (as the kids like to say) on the streets — T-shirts and sweatshirts with the Moving Forward logo that are currently available for pre-order. The founders would be lying if they said this is exactly what they envisioned. In reality, it’s bigger and better than they ever imagined. And it’s just getting started. What is Moving Forward? I n its simplest form, Moving Forward is about giving a voice to every student. It’s about giving every student a place where they belong. It’s about making Gilbert Schools a better place for every student. No cliques. No exclusivity. No agenda other than to wel- come every student in with arms wide open. And it’s 100 percent student driven.
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