If you happen to walk past room F1 on the morning of a Blue Day 5, you will almost certainly see a group of Greeley students hanging out and having a blast. Meet the Breakfast Club, led by seniors Sara Lippin and Lizzy Osinski and advised by special education teaching assistant Ms. Janice Alfonso. The club serves as a lively social hub for Pathways students and the club’s members who otherwise might not have an opportunity to meet each other. It gives them a setting in which they can all come together, enjoy breakfast, play games, engage in interesting conversations, or participate in one of many other activities that the space has to offer.
The Breakfast Club, founded at Greeley in 2013, has cultivated a supportive and inclusive environment for students in Greeley’s Pathways Program, a special educational program for students with unique needs. It acts as a welcoming place for all peers, no matter their history or background. Contrary to its name, the group doesn’t simply eat breakfast together: “We dance, we listen to music, we play games, we color, [and] it just brings everyone together,” said Ms. Alfonso. “We want to break down the walls of… having [Pathways students] ‘separated’ from [other students], cause we’re all the same. We all have the same likes, and needs, and wants.” The Breakfast Club is here to make positive change at Greeley — it’s here to make everyone feel like they belong and have purpose, no matter their background.

Club leader Lizzy Osinski said she and other students chose to join the Breakfast Club because “Our passion for working with the Pathways kids and making Greeley a more inclusive place has inspired us.” It is this focus on inclusivity that sets the Breakfast Club apart from other student organizations — in most other clubs, relationships formed inside the group may just be an added bonus of being a club member, but for the Breakfast Club’s ten-plus members, the relationships are the reason to join in the first place. To quote Ms. Alfonzo, “[Members of the Breakfast Club] get to know each other in a different light.”
Occasionally, the club also collaborates with the ACCESS Club, which is similar to the Breakfast Club in the sense that it supports students with disabilities. This year, ACCESS is specifically geared towards helping club members learn ways to connect with other peers. At the end of each school year, the Breakfast and ACCESS clubs combine their efforts for an exciting joint breakfast, where food brings everyone together to talk and connect.
The Breakfast Club is unique within the Greeley community because, as Ms. Alfonso stated, it helps students “[take a break] from academic [pressures]. That’s what really separates [us from other clubs].” Indeed, rather than focusing on academics, students in the group come together to foster a community.
If the club sounds like fun, it’s not too late to sign up and become part of this unique opportunity to form new friendships and start the morning on a positive note. Come and stop by on a Blue Day, and experience a fun game of Uno or join in a dance party. The Breakfast Club is open to all!