On April 3, the freshmen and sophomore AVID students hosted their first-ever Blue Carnival in honor of Autism Awareness Month with the help of Freshman Advisor Sanoe Tuitele and Sophomore Advisor Alishia Miron. The carnival occurred during an extended lunch period at the center stage and consisted of games and booths run by different clubs. The National Honor Society, Fil-am Club, boys volleyball team, HOSA and all faculty and staff contributed to this event. Students were encouraged prior to the event to wear blue to symbolize autism awareness. Special shirts were also created and sold by the AVID classes, worn by booth volunteers and purchasers.
“With this being our third year of Special Olympics, we wanted to expand in the sense of how can we get more of our student population to know, one, we have a Special Olympics team and then two, to learn more about autism because it is becoming more and more common,” said freshmen AVID teacher, Sanoe Tuitele.
The freshmen and sophomore AVID classes were able to come together to plan and coordinate the event. All of the games, signs, and activities were prepared by these classes. Flyers were hung around campus, and Instagram posts promoting the event were shared on both freshman and sophomore AVID accounts (@av72id and @rhsavidco2026).
“I feel really honored to participate in the Blue Carnival because I feel like I was able to have an impact on something that I normally don’t think about that much, or something that we kinda just take for granted,” said sophomore Jade Culbertson, an AVID student and crew member of the Blue Carnival.
Each booth run by the different clubs had a game that represented one of the five senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing). Sometimes people with autism have sensory issues that cause them to be sensitive to these stimuli. Each game simulated one of the five senses to share awareness of how those with autism or disabilities may struggle with using these everyday senses that many neurotypical people may take for granted. Students were handed a stamp card to fill out at each booth in order to win a prize at the end. Other booths gave out free snacks like popcorn, cotton candy, and shaved ice.
“If one or five students walked away with information on autism, I feel like we won, because this is something totally new to us,” said Tuitele.
All in all, the AVID class agreed that this event was a success. The Blue Carnival will continue to be an annual event for the students of Radford, and it may even expand to the elementary students in order to spread more awareness.
“I think because it was our first year we learned a lot, and I think next year it will be even better,” said sophomore AVID teacher Alishia Miron.