Seton prepares for Unified Field Day

Students from the House of St. Mary Magdalene pose for a picture at their booth during last year's Unified Field Day. (File Photo)

By Sarah Monsegur, ‘24
Feb. 1, 2024

In an effort to provide memorable experiences for students with special needs, Seton Buddies will host guests from eight nearby schools for a Unified Field Day on Feb. 2 at Michael Eubanks Stadium with game booths, food trucks and a DJ.

Unified Field Day (UFD) is a Seton tradition that occurs each year on the last day of Catholic Schools Week. Seton Alumna Sarah Thompson, who founded the Buddies club, created the event to include individuals with special needs more within the Seton community. This year, the club and UFD are run by Mrs. Nicole Garcia as well as student leaders and seniors, Joey McAuliff and Courtney Nguyen. With their hard work and the cooperation of Seton’s House system, Field Day will feature activities such as ring toss and corn hole that Seton students and visitors can participate in together to promote connections among high schoolers of all backgrounds.

Unified Field Day aims to encourage interaction between Seton students and their peers with particular needs because without an event like UFD, these kinds of interactions may not happen organically.

“In our Catholic school we are trying to get all these points with academics, with morality, with service to others, and we're missing this main component of being able to have day-in, day-out interactions with persons with disabilities,” said Mrs. Garcia. “This is one way that we can have that.”

In preparation for Unified Field Day, members of Seton Buddies took a field trip to the Special Olympics State Fall Games on Oct. 13 where they cheered on swimmers with disabilities at the Skyline Aquatic Center in Mesa.

“It was an experience I’ve never had before. It made me feel so grateful for what I have and it made me learn not to take anything for granted,” Courtney said. “The kids there, they don't take anything for granted, they enjoy every moment they have, they don't complain about anything. I just had a lot of fun helping the kids and watching them swim.”

This year’s field day is fixing to be Seton’s largest yet, with just over 400 visitors from the following high schools: Chandler, Cactus Shadows, Casteel, Mesquite, Westwood, Marcos De Niza, Hamilton and Mountain View.

Many freshmen and transfer students that have never experienced Unified Field Day before may not know what to expect.

“Just know that it’s going to be a lot at first, there's going to be a lot of people there but you just have to be patient,” said Joey. “You have to understand that they’re people too and to just treat them like that. Treat them like one of your friends.”