Norwich Free Academy senior hopes to develop fashion business for those with special needs
She told her mother,
"'Well,'" her mother recalled telling her, "'what are YOU going to do about it?'"
Savannah looked at her mother, paused and said: "I could go up to him on the playground and say: 'Do you want to play?'"
Savannah couldn't wait to go to school the next day and try it out, her mother said. The boy, who was on the autism spectrum, responded. He and Savannah played at recess, ate lunch together, talked and became close friends. Then something strange happened.
Savannah began to be shunned and bullied. She remembered responding defiantly, determined not to let it bother her and sticking with her new friend.
By the time the two reached eighth grade at
That experience has defined
Meaike, 17, who will graduate
Meaike joined the
Meaike laughed at how the students enthusiastically jumped at the idea, at times setting aside the choreography and just "doing their own thing." The audience of more than 200 people roared in approval.
This year, Meaike hooked the Unified Dance Team up with the NFA Dance Team and they performed to a full
As she departs NFA, the Unified Dance Team is continuing down the path she paved.
"The beautiful thing Savanah recognizes is that everyone is doing their own thing to their own abilities and having great big smiles on their faces," Beit said. "For me in my career, she's just one of those special people. She walks into the room and everyone screams. She just wants it to be all about them, and because of that, she's a star."
Meaike's other passion is pageants. She has been competing in pageants since she was 14, and in 2018 won the Connecticut National Miss Teen crown. She visited elementary school classes, read to young students and hoped to motivate them to take chances and be confident in the paths they had forged.
This year, she was first runner-up in the
"You may think that if you aren't like everyone else around you then you are inadequate, but really, you are special, you are different, and you are unique beyond measure," Meaike said in her recent motivational speech. "All of those qualities are what makes someone fiercely independent, and fearlessly themselves."
As she graduates high school, Meaike will put a twist in Emerson's quote. She knows where she wants her untrodden path to end up and now must build the path to reach that goal.
Meaike wants to own a bridal and prom fashion boutique, preferably in
Meaike looked at a fashion school in
Her father,
"She has a strong entrepreneurial spirit," her father said.
"I always told my kids, 'if you put your mind to it, you can achieve it,'"
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