25 Student Leaders From New Mexico Attend 28th Annual Best Buddies Leadership Conference
The 28th Annual Best Buddies Leadership Conference was held at beautiful Indiana University in Bloomington, IN in July of this year. More than 2300 leaders from around the world came together to Bloomington, Indiana to learn, share, and be inspired.
We’re immensely proud to have brought a delegation of 25 of our own student and adult leaders to represent New Mexico. We took part in educational tracks for Middle Schools, High Schools, Ambassadors, Jobs, and Advisors.
Our leaders represented New Mexico superbly, and made a lasting impact on those we met. We shared our positivity and values, cheered “New Mexico is great! And so is every other state!”, and had two of our own, Tianna Habersham and Sloan Wilson, participate in the fashion show during opening ceremonies. We came together and discussed how to best make our programs a success.

Tianna, Sloan and George with reVoiced
On Sunday, select Ambassadors were chosen to deliver speeches about how Best Buddies has changed their lives. Hearing the stories shared by the Ambassadors was profound and inspiring. We walked away having recognized the impact of our work toward social inclusion, and discovered a newfound drive to make our chapters the best they can be.
The work was important and the stories were inspiring; above all else, the weekend was FUN! We made new friends from around the world, held impromptu sing-a-longs, danced and sang karaoke, walked in solidarity for friendship, and truly came together as a strong New Mexico unit.

New Mexico Delegation at the 28th Annual Best Buddies Leadership Conference
We here at Best Buddies can’t wait to see what the new school year will bring for students with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities in New Mexico!