Eagle Valley High School’s Wish Week helps make a Gypsum girl’s wish come true

The Eagle Valley High School gym erupted in cheers and applause as the 11-year-old Gypsum girl, her parents and younger sister walked in on Wednesday.

This past week was Eagle Valley High School’s Wish Week. The 1,000-student high school organizes and participates in events to raise funds for Make-A-Wish Colorado. Each year, Make-A-Wish Colorado designates a “wish kid,” a local child with a critical illness whose wish will be granted through the funds the students raise.

This year, the wish kid is 11-year-old Julieta, a Gypsum resident battling a brain tumor whose wish is to go to Walt Disney World.

Julieta likes the color red, the Disney movies “Coco” and “Elemental,” playing board games and soccer. Her favorite animal is the tiger.

When the Eagle Valley High School Wish Week student organizers learned that Julieta was this year’s wish kid, they planned this year’s festivities around her interests. They made red t-shirts with her name spelled out in Scrabble tiles that almost all students and teachers wore to Wednesday’s assembly. They decorated the school in a jungle theme.

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Making wishes come true

This is Eagle Valley High School’s eighth year raising funds for Make-A-Wish Colorado. In that time, students have been able to support wishes for 21 Colorado kids.

“We’ve definitely left our mark on Make-A-Wish Colorado,” said Jacey Meryhew, Eagle Valley’s student council vice president.

“In the last few years, we’ve added countless events we’ve never done before, and it has been really nice,” said Audrey Tatro, Eagle Valley’s student council president. “The more wishes we can grant, the better off these kids are, and it gives them hope and excitement for the future and their treatment.”

Meryhew and Tatro, both seniors, have been involved with planning Wish Week since they were freshmen. 

“We’re not a huge school by any means, and we’re from a pretty small valley, so it’s cool to see us all come together and see the impact we’ve had,” Meryhew said. “It’s amazing to see how excited (wish kids) are to be a part of it, and to know they have a whole high school supporting them and behind them.”

“It’s really impactful,” to celebrate a local kid during Wish Week, Tatro said.

The wish kid from their freshman year, Jose, is now a member of the student council at Eagle Valley High School.

“It means a lot to give back to our community and make sure that the children in our area are getting support and making sure that when they come to Eagle Valley High School, they know that they have a whole community to rely on,” Tatro said.

This year’s Wish Week started with typical events like volleyball and trivia. A pickleball tournament drew both students and adult community members.

New this year were spikeball and a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, plus a cookout at the boys’ lacrosse game on Wednesday.

“It has been really fun to navigate that and also bring new events and new games to the community,” Tatro said.

All Wish Week events double as fundraisers, with a $5 admission fee that goes directly to Make-A-Wish.

During Wednesday’s assembly, all 1,000 students and their teachers gathered in the high school’s gym to play games and perform cheers while Julieta and her family looked on.

Students from each grade also came together to select a representative for the Mr. Eagle Valley pageant competition, who showed off strutting models during the assembly. Julieta chose the winner.

Eagle Valley High School is the only high school in the valley that does Wish Week, and several of its feeder schools — including Red Hill Elementary School, Brush Creek Elementary School, Avon Elementary School and Eagle Valley Middle School — have also started raising funds.

As of Wednesday, the combined efforts of students across several schools during Wish Week 2025 raised $23,421.88.

Ahead of Wish Week, Eagle Valley High School teachers were asked to guess how much money they thought students would raise. The teacher whose guess was furthest from the total amount had their head shaved by Tatro in front of the entire school. This year, that was Charles Callis. Tatro’s jaw dropped as she held the clippers to his head and hair began to fall away.

Donations to Make-A-Wish Colorado can continue to roll in through the online donation page. “Just because Wish Week ends on Wednesday doesn’t mean that donations can’t still pour in,” Tatro said. “It’s never too late to donate.”

In addition to raising money and displaying support for the wish kid, Tatro said she sees Wish Week as an opportunity to raise awareness for Make-A-Wish.

“There are four children in the Vail Valley alone waiting for their wish to be granted, and in the greater Colorado state, there are over 400 kids who are waiting for their Make-A-Wish,” Tatro said. “In addition to that, 50% of children who have critical illnesses could qualify for a wish, but most of them don’t even apply because they don’t know the criteria. … Most children with critical illnesses can apply and are eligible.”

For Julieta’s family, the assembly was the culmination of over a year of overwhelming community support.

“We could never imagine the community would be that warm and that linked with each other as to do what you have done for us,” said Edgar, Julieta’s dad. “I am not just talking about Eagle Valley, I am talking about every single member of our community.”

“There are no words to thank what this community has done for us,” Edgar said.