Shae’s Dream Experience began on Thursday with an incredible surprise at her school! Every student and teacher lined the halls to show their support and help pull off the big surprise. Her small town atmosphere felt so big and full of endless excitement for Shae.
After the incredible surprise and pure shock that her Dream was coming true, the journey began with a 4 hour car ride from Ingalls, KS to Kansas State University. While blaring music, telling stories, and playing road-trip games, the expedition flew by!
The next morning began with the family trying Chick-Fil-A breakfast for the first time ever, so the day was already off to a great start. The crew headed to the K-State bookstore for a shopping spree for Shae donated by the school. With the help of the kindest staff, everyone was geared up in K-State attire for the weekend!
After the shopping spree, we headed to the stadium where Shae met retired head football coach, Bill Snyder! The two of them were equally as excited to meet one another. They both were truly inspired by each others journeys. As if it couldn’t get any better…it did! The crew met with Natalie, who works with the football team, for a surprise tour of the football facility. Natalie is a Hospitality Major at Kansas State, which ironically, is what Shae wants to major in at K-State too! Shae was able to see her future roll through the eyes of Natalie, and it was so special.
The fun didn’t stop here! We headed to the Manhattan Zoo where the family got a private golf cart tour of the zoo. Thanks to their amazing staff, Shae was able to play with so many animals and even met an opossum named Polly, who painted a picture for her! Lunch was so kindly donated by Hy-Vee Market Grille where we filled up on the tastiest food.
After that, the crew headed to Target to shop for Halloween costumes. Shae was dressed head to toe as Barbie, which just makes sense. We quickly changed and headed to Aggieville to trick-or-treat and watch the K-State homecoming parade. Shortly after, we went to the Kansas State Women’s Volleyball game and watched them win. Shae plays volleyball and she had the best time experiencing a college match. At the game, Shae met the cheer coach and even some of the cheerleaders! They gifted her a swag-bag to match with them on the sidelines at the football game tomorrow.
Dream day began with an early wake up call for our crew. Although, the early rise and freezing cold temperatures didn’t stop Shae, she was beaming with joy all day! We headed to the stadium for the player-walk where Shae got to cheer the team on with Kansas State Cheer!
After the player-walk, Senior K-State cheerleader, Britlyn Beach took Shae under her wing for the whole day! Ironically, Britlyn went to the same small town school that Shae goes to and they instantly bonded. The cheer team took Shae to get kickoff ready with a “P-Pony”, a bow to match, and pom-poms! Shae was ecstatic. The team headed down for a pep-walk through the tailgates with band and dance team. Shae was front and center leading the cheer team with all of her newly beloved friends!
Then it was game time! Shae spent most of the game down on the field learning cheer routines and having a blast. By the 4th quarter of this blowout win, Shae was already executing the cheers so effortlessly with the team!
Once the game ended & a very much needed nap was taken, our crew headed out to refuel with Mexican food, Shae’s favorite! We ended the night by strolling through Target to pickup a few games and had a super special game night back at the hotel.
Shae loved being so involved and felt so included of the cheer team thanks to the Kansas State Cheer team!
