MAD Week at Heritage is a chance for us to give back, raising money and awareness for Make-A-Wish Colorado while bringing the community together. One of the biggest highlights this year was the drone show, which illuminated the night sky over the baseball field and offered students and families a new way to participate in the event. The drone show aimed to be more than just entertainment; it sought to create a shared experience for students and the local community, with many people across her Heritage coming together to celebrate Ingrid, our wish kid, with a Moana-themed show.
Another student, Brody Groff 27’, had this to say about his experience at the drone show: “Watching the drones fly around and light up the sky was so cool, and it reminded me of sitting and watching fireworks on the Fourth of July. The Moana theme was beautiful and truly embodies our wish week in showing our support for the things that Ingrid loves.”
Ryan Schmidt ’27 played a key role in organizing the event and shared what it took to put it together. “This drone show was super fun for me to plan out. The main goal was to create a community event that many people could come to,” he said. “We know that our community gives us a lot, and we figured what better way than to give back to them through a drone show.”
The idea stemmed from a previous experience. “We first got the idea for a drone show while watching the drone show at the Colorado Association of School Boards conference at the Broadmoor,” Schmidt explained. “Watching that show inspired us to reach out to St. Verain Valley School District, which runs a drone show program at their innovation center.” He also highlighted the effort involved in making it happen, saying, “It was a huge process of planning and prep along with lots of contracts.”
Even though the event did not directly raise money, it still had a positive impact on the community. “In the end, it was so beneficial for our community, and people from all around came to watch,” Schmidt said. “Although we did not raise any money, we got lots of community members involved, and we plan on continuing this throughout the future years.”
Overall, the drone show brought something new to MAD Week and demonstrated how the school can unite people while supporting an important cause.