Repeat: It’s 100 percent student driven. “I am so proud of the fact that it’s grassroots driven,” Gilbert Schools Superintendent Dr. Christine Trujillo says. “They listened to the needs of the kids and they really went the extra mile. It wasn’t about just getting kids to an event. They reached out to kids, they got to know the kids’ names, and it was about bring- ing kids in to say everybody belongs here.” Dennis May and Allison Fugere are two of those students who were brought into the fold, and they quickly realized they wanted to dive right into the deep end of the pool. Both jun- iors at Gilbert High School, they’re official Moving Forward members and a part of the class that will take the reins of the organiza- tion a year from now. “What Ben has created is so beautiful and he’ll never get all of the credit that he de- serves,” Dennis says. “On one hand, it’s very endearing that this hasn’t gone to his head, but on the other hand, it’s frustrating to see how he steers away from all of the credit that he deserves.” Dennis and Allison paint a picture of a Mov- ing Forward event, and they do so with smiles
Students at the September Moving Forward event.
on their faces. They talk about metaphorical walls coming down between students and new friendships being formed among students that likely never would have put themselves out there prior to Moving Forward. “A lot of the coldness that people have to- ward each other, especially passing in the hall-
way, that stuff just completely melts away (after a Moving Forward event),” Dennis says. “So many people become so much friendlier than they were before.” Dennis is a people person, always has been. As a freshman and sophomore, he went out of his way to introduce himself to other students
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