HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — The gymnasium at Mountain Vista High School was packed Friday. The lights were low, the spotlights turned on. Months of planning had gone into the fashion show that was about to start.
Thousands in the audience cheered as the star took the stage: an 8-year-old girl wearing a purple boa and heart-shaped sunglasses.
“Lucy is 8 years old, and she has a rare genetic disorder,” her mom, Natalie, said backstage.
The fashion show was the finale to the high school’s "Wish Week," a week of fundraisers supporting Make-A-Wish Colorado. Lucy is the school’s "wish kid" of the year.
“My wish was to be in a fashion show,” the 8-year-old girl said with a smile.
So the students at Mountain Vista put up a stage in their gym. They had announcers, photographers and a DJ.
Lucy picked the music and her outfits. She even designed the t-shirts all the students and staff wore to the event.
Then, she stepped onto the runway to a massive cheer.
“It was scary, but it was really fun,” Lucy said.
“I did have this overwhelming flood of emotion come, full of happiness, that brought me to tears,” Lucy’s mom said, watching her daughter from the front row.
Lucy and her friends, along with other Make-A-Wish kids and Mountain Vista teachers’ kids, each took turns modeling — striking a pose or busting a dance move in the process. While they expected cheers, the roar of a few thousand high schoolers did surprise them.
“I, like, broke my eardrums,” Lucy said with a laugh afterwards. “It was, like, really loud.”
Natalie added that she felt the energy and the positive vibes, and knew it would be a great thing for her daughter moving forward.
“I just loved that she got to be in the spotlight. And to know how much support she has, all the people rallying around her to support her in her trials,” she said.
After the fashion show portion, students threw a giant dance party, with Lucy at the center, complete with a finale of confetti cannons. Lucy and her friends ended the day by doing snow angels in the confetti on the gym floor.
“They went beyond anything I could have imagined and it was spectacular,” Natalie said.
“This is really special for me,” Lucy added. “I think I’m gonna remember it for a long time.”
The Wish Week fundraising total won’t be announced until next week, but since 2017, Make-A-Wish says Mountain Vista has been the top fundraising high school in the country.
