ROELAND PARK, Kan. (WDAF) — The robotics team at Bishop Miege High School is making this Halloween extra special for one student with disabilities.
The team of four girls created a custom DJ costume for 11-year-old Parker McElroy, who has cerebral palsy.
“Watching him immediately react to it was absolutely amazing,” Parker’s dad Nick said. “It was a joy to see the smile on his face and see the smile that it brought to their face as well.”
Nick says it’s very challenging to find a costume for Parker that is comfortable and fits his wheelchair, so the Bishop Miege students jumped at the opportunity to use their skills for good.
“We put lights, we put sparkles on it so he could see stuff with his eyes, and to just make it really fun,” student Norah Heise said.
Parker loves music, so they landed on an interactive DJ costume so that he could control the music and change the lights, all while being functional with his chair.
Science teacher and head of robotics Scott Anderson says watching this come together has been one of the team’s most fulfilling projects.
“Yea, we’re learning STEM, we’re learning how to program, and CAD and all that fun stuff, but bringing joy to people around us, that’s probably the biggest satisfaction that we can get,” Anderson said.
He says they plan to continue making projects like this one every year.
“It was so wholesome when he started using it, and you could just see the joy on his face that was unlike anything,” student Michaela Wilcox said.
“Like even when we were testing it with him, it was just so wholesome, you could see how much he truly enjoyed it and how much he would be able to fully experience it on Halloween.”
Parker’s dad says he’ll be passing out candy in their driveway on Halloween night, playing DJ, thanks to his costume.
