WILLIAMSTOWN – The cafeteria at Saint Mary School is a buzz of activity – students eating their lunches, talking about the weekend and planning what to play at recess. In the middle of it all, a young volunteer helps to remove food trays, receiving thankful smiles from the students.
Ezekiel Pulipati and his mother, Hadassah, volunteer in the school’s cafeteria two days a week. Ezekiel is 21 and on the autism spectrum. He has difficulty with loud noises, social interaction and basic speech.
When Hadassah Pulipati asked the school if she could bring her son to help out in the cafeteria, principal Patricia Mancuso emphatically welcomed him to the lunch crew.
“Having Ezekiel in the cafeteria is good for the students as well as for him,” Mancuso said. “At first, I thought it would be a great experience for Ezekiel, and then I realized how much our students could learn.”
Enter Ezekiel’s sister, Thalitha Pulipati, a seventh-grader at the school, and the club she helped start: the Autism Awareness Club. “I originally started this group because my brother has autism,” she said. “I also saw that a lot of middle school students these days don’t have enough autism awareness.”
Hadassah Pulipati agreed. “I feel like many kids do not know what autism is, and I am thankful for my daughter educating her fellow students,” she said with tears of pride in her eyes.
The middle school-based club meets twice a month during the lunch period to learn more about autism spectrum disorder, come up with ways to spread awareness among fellow students, and plan different events and fundraisers to support other autism programs.
“I felt so blessed that she wanted to do this,” Hadassah Pulipati said of her daughter. “To me, our faith is so important, and we saw how God guided her through this work.”
In December, the club held a fundraiser for Ezekiel’s former school, Archbishop Damiano School in Westville, which provides education and services to students with disabilities. The club raised $300, which was matched by the Susquehanna International Group.
In recognition of National Autism Acceptance Month, which is celebrated in April, the group decided to create posters with important facts about autism and place them in the school’s hallway, spread out among the colorful art projects and holiday-inspired class bulletin boards.
“My parents thought the posters were a good idea,” Thalitha Pulipati said. “My mom then emailed Autism New Jersey … they sent some of the posters, and we made a few as well.”
The seventh-grader, now a junior advocate for the Autism New Jersey nonprofit, also reads a “fact of the day” over the loud speaker during morning announcements.
“I research a lot. I like to read a lot of articles,” she said when asked how she comes up with her daily facts.
Seventh-grade teacher Brian Wolf, who is also the club’s moderator, believes the students’ work is having a real effect on the school. “Just having the number of students we do in this group is an indicator that it is working. The students are interested … and this is a way for them to learn.”
About the club, Mancuso shared, “The experience teaches students that everyone has unique strengths and challenges, fostering an acceptance and inclusivity from a young age.”
With an active club in place, Wolf is beginning to look to the future. “I hope to see this group grow and continue to spread awareness,” he said, adding that he plans to expand participation to the lower grades, add an after-school component and plan field trips.
Mancuso hopes the club continues to “help students be compassionate and inclusive people, and reinforce the values of respect, kindness and diversity.”
Those are qualities Thalitha Pulipati sees in her fellow students whenever her brother is around. “I think I see it most in the lunchroom when the other students see my brother. They talk to him like he is one of them.”
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