Match Made in Heaven

The unbreakable bond between the Buddy and Peer Buddy is apparent with Reyes. According to Behm, several Peer Buddies wanted to buddy up with Reyes; however, over his time at LHS, he has formed a special relationship with seniors Nick Tasiopoulos and Sammy Papas, who are his Peer Buddies. Reyes loves to spend time with the always-entertaining duo, claiming that his favorite thing to do with them is spend the day at the mall, something that they do frequently.

To make the best possible Peer Buddy matches, there is a lengthy process to follow. The first step is for the presidents and advisors to lay out the expectations of being a Peer Buddy, like how often you should spend time with your Buddy. Shortly after, those interested will apply to be Peer Buddies, making sure to list their interests and hobbies. The presidents and advisors go through an interview process to gauge the applicants’ personalities. Matches are then based off of personality, age and interests. Commonly, there are two Peer Buddies per Buddy.

Tasiopoulos first joined Best Buddies because he remembered how much fun it was when he spent time with his two older sisters’ buddies. Papas, Tasiopoulos’ cousin, joined for the same reason.

“[Mason’s]  freshmen year we were in the same gym class, integrated PE,” Tasiopoulos said. “I remember him telling me that he went in and asked Mrs. Recsetar if we could be Peer Buddies with Sammy cause he really liked us. We are pretty close.”

When it comes down to the their match, Papas, Reyes and Tasiopoulos seem to be a match made in heaven. They try to hang out once a week. They all admit to loving the mall, where they frequently go to window shop. Movies, music and Chipotle are other common interests the trio has. Recently they saw “Fast and Furious” together and on the way there, they listened to their favorite artist, A$AP Rocky. One of their favorite things to do is sing along to the song “Bass” but instead of singing the real lyrics, sing “Big Mase” (Reyes’ nickname).

Spending so much time with Reyes has really rubbed off on Tasiopoulos and Papas. They describe his kindness as infectious and there is never a dull moment when all three are together.

“Mason is always nice to everyone,” Papas said. “He is always making people smile. I see him in the hallway; I think he is the most popular kid in the school right now, he is always talking to everybody, making them laugh. It rubs off on us.”

Even if everything seems to be going wrong one day, just being with Reyes seems to make everything right.

“Especially if you are having a bad day and you see Mason in the hallway, everything will be better,” Tasiopoulos said.