By ALEX MALM

Valerie Landry, a sophomore at Pilgrim High School, has seen senior nights for the sports she plays which includes field hockey, hockey, and lacrosse.

Landry also plays on the unified basketball team and made sure that the seniors on the team had their senior night as well.

“I feel like they should have the same experience on a sports team as I do,” said Landry. “They really deserved it.”

During Pilgrim’s senior night they faced off against Cranston East. Landry said she took it upon herself to call Cranston East to find out who the seniors on the team were.

There were posters made for all the seniors on both teams and there were also balloons for the players.

“Val is an absolute advocate for her unified athletes and took it upon herself not only to make the posters for both teams, but she took it upon herself to organize and purchase pizzas, drinks, and snacks for the team to celebrate the seniors,” said Sean Magee, the head coach for the Pilgrim unified team.

Magee said that Landry even made sure to get a gluten free pizza for Danny Comella because of his food allergy. Comella and Landry have gone together since they were in kindergarten at Randall Holden Elementary School.

“I was so impressed with her selfless actions. She wanted to make sure that the unified experience for the athletes was no different than any other teammates in other sports. I am happy to hear that she is being recognized for her selfless actions,” said Magee. “She didn’t do this for recognition or attention; Val did this because she believes that all athletes should be treated equally. I have the utmost respect for Val and all of her teammates that make it possible for this team to compete. We have fun together, work hard together, and compete. Unified basketball is about pure sport regardless of any individual’s limitations. They practice, they enjoy their teammates, and they work hard to win. Sometimes teenagers get a bad reputation for their actions. Clearly, Val is not your typical teenager. I am glad that she is bringing positive attention to both unified sports and our Pilgrim students that are making a difference in their communities. Val is a special person and I am so happy to be able to coach her and the Pilgrim unified basketball team.”

From Cranston East the seniors were Nic Johnson, and Steven Rodriguez and from Pilgrim the seniors were Kaleb Souza and Matthew Conceicao.

“They were super excited,” said Landry.

Although unified didn’t happen last year due to the pandemic, Landry isn’t a stranger to unified sports after playing during seventh and eighth grade at Warwick Vets.

One of the reasons why Landry wanted to organize the senior night is because she knows how it feels to be left out of situations and said she wanted to make sure that all students had the same experiences.

“This is something that they deserve as much as my field hockey, or hockey, or lacrosse teams deserve,” said Landry.