Stella Schola Middle School Helps Grant a Wish

Having a cold is a nuisance.  Having a strep throat hurts.  Having leukemia is a battle.  Children with leukemia sometimes feel too weak to do normal teenage things, they are sick a lot, their bones and joints ache, they have stomach aches, and they can have chest pains resulting in difficulty breathing.  Leukemia patients often spend lots of time in the hospital undergoing chemotherapy treatments, all the while determined to fight this cancerous disease which is affecting their red blood cells. Fourteen year-old Chuka has been fighting leukemia for one very long year. 

Since its inception in 1986, the local chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation - the non-profit organization that grants wishes to children like Chuka with life-threatening medical conditions - has granted wishes to more than 3,750 children. With a network of nearly 25,000 volunteers nationwide, the Foundation has reached more that 167,000 around the world. Volunteers serve as wish granters, fundraisers, and special events assistants.

Chuka’s wish was to feel like a celebrity for a day.  Through a Make-A-Wish Foundation volunteer, Honor Society students at Stella Schola Middle School in Redmond heard about Chuka’s wish. Students overwhelmingly voted to participate as ‘paparazzi’ as Chuka’s celebrity-for-a-day wish was granted last weekend.  Headmistress and Honor Society Advisor Brigitte Tennis said, “It’s important for our youth to empathize with others and this is a great way to make a memory for a young man who has had many challenges in his life.”

Chuka traveled to various locations in a black limousine, and thirteen Stella Schola Honor Society students spent their Saturday afternoon and evening snapping flash pictures, asking for autographs, and holding up home-made signs which read, “You rock”, “We love you, Chuka,” “You are a star”, and “Chuka is cool”. At Macy’s in downtown Seattle, Chuka, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, got the ‘red carpet’ treatment as fans clamored for his attention.  “I feel really good to be helping a kid my age feel better,” commented 7^th grader Pavel Titov.  Later in the evening, middle school ‘paparazzi’ showed up again, as the popular Chuka went to the Space Needle.  At the end of the day, Chuka stepped out of his celebrity role to thank supporters, after which everyone clapped and cheered for him. 7^th grader Julie Tramp said, “Helping Chuka by making his wish come true was really fun and I liked it” as she donated her flash camera with its pictures from the day to Chuka.  “I hope he can think about his day and how much people support him when he is sick the next time,” said 8^th grader Alexa Dickinson. “Chuka is really cool and I am glad I was able to be part of this,” said 8^th grader Cody Duoos.