QU Field Hockey's Haley Swartz and "Team Kendall" Bring Cinderella Dream To Child
11/1/2015 3:53:00 PM | General
(The following text was featured on Quinnipiac University's Facebook page. Haley Swartz is a senior captain on the field hockey team and Adam Pallone is an assistant athletic trainer at Quinnipiac)
Haley Swartz didn't want to just do well in another entrepreneurship class; she wanted to make a difference in someone's life. Taking a break from studying, the Quinnipiac senior stumbled across a Facebook post about a disabled child who wasn't able to do something so many of us take for granted – go trick or treating. And then it clicked! She wanted to give a child a night that he or she would never forget – complete with a fancy costume and night of fun.
It didn't take long for her to find the child she'd help – 5-year-old Kendall Pallone who is as cute as she is spunky. The daughter of a Quinnipiac athletic trainer has cerebral palsy, a disorder that prevents her from walking or even speaking, and has only been able to watch others enjoy the popular holiday – until tonight.
Three weeks into another project, Haley and her business-creation course partners, Philip Cenatiemp and Kevin Smolar, decided to start fresh in pursuit of seeing that Kendall would realize her dream of being Cinderella, if not only for one night. Equipped with insulation, cardboard, felts and a few dozen lights, the students spent more than 60 hours this month transforming Kendall's wheelchair into a carriage. How appropriate!
They then got word out to more than 200 members of the Quinnipiac community that Kendall would be trick-or-treating on the quad. Students and faculty from every corner of the university came out to see that Kendall would be that princess she always knew she was. Maneuvering her crown-topped chair through the cheering Bobcats, Kendall received all the pomp of any princess!
"She had the biggest smile on her face when she first saw it," Haley said, still glowing from her accomplishment. "We were able to make a big difference for one person." Kendall's dad, Adam, said he can't adequately express his appreciation. "For her to have the opportunity to be a normal kid and do what every other 5-year-old can do is phenomenal," he said. "It's a great feeling. They took a simple classroom assignment and went the extra mile creating a moment we soon won't forget. It says a lot about each of them."
Haley Swartz didn't want to just do well in another entrepreneurship class; she wanted to make a difference in someone's life. Taking a break from studying, the Quinnipiac senior stumbled across a Facebook post about a disabled child who wasn't able to do something so many of us take for granted – go trick or treating. And then it clicked! She wanted to give a child a night that he or she would never forget – complete with a fancy costume and night of fun.It didn't take long for her to find the child she'd help – 5-year-old Kendall Pallone who is as cute as she is spunky. The daughter of a Quinnipiac athletic trainer has cerebral palsy, a disorder that prevents her from walking or even speaking, and has only been able to watch others enjoy the popular holiday – until tonight.
Three weeks into another project, Haley and her business-creation course partners, Philip Cenatiemp and Kevin Smolar, decided to start fresh in pursuit of seeing that Kendall would realize her dream of being Cinderella, if not only for one night. Equipped with insulation, cardboard, felts and a few dozen lights, the students spent more than 60 hours this month transforming Kendall's wheelchair into a carriage. How appropriate!They then got word out to more than 200 members of the Quinnipiac community that Kendall would be trick-or-treating on the quad. Students and faculty from every corner of the university came out to see that Kendall would be that princess she always knew she was. Maneuvering her crown-topped chair through the cheering Bobcats, Kendall received all the pomp of any princess!
"She had the biggest smile on her face when she first saw it," Haley said, still glowing from her accomplishment. "We were able to make a big difference for one person." Kendall's dad, Adam, said he can't adequately express his appreciation. "For her to have the opportunity to be a normal kid and do what every other 5-year-old can do is phenomenal," he said. "It's a great feeling. They took a simple classroom assignment and went the extra mile creating a moment we soon won't forget. It says a lot about each of them."
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