By ALIN HETT
Hays Post
Every year, the nationwide competition, Colossal’s Super Kid Competition, celebrates children as superheroes in their own way while raising funds and awareness for the Stan Lee Foundation.
Public voting narrows the field through successive rounds toward the Top 5 and later, the finals. The public selects the overall Super Kid Champion, while the Stan Lee Universe team chooses a Critics’ Pick sidekick.
The winner of the competition receives a $25,000 cash prize, their own custom superhero identity brought to life, a starring role in a brand-new Stan Lee Universe comic book and VIP passes/tickets to L.A. Comic Con.
The purpose of the Colossal’s Super Kid competition is to celebrate children who show courage, kindness, creativity and perseverance while benefiting the Stan Lee Foundation's mission to promote literacy, education and the narrative arts.
Kade Burgardt, a Hays High School junior varsity runner, embodies what it means to be a Super Kid. Kade was diagnosed with autism before he started preschool back in 2012.
Kade is a master LEGO builder, an artist, a pizza fan and a young man who makes a point of asking people how they are doing. He also ranks among the Top 10 in Colossal’s Super Kid Competition.
After advancing through the Top 20 and Top 15 rounds. Kade sits at the No. 4 spot hoping to make it to the finals. The top 5 voting began on Oct. 8 and ends Oct. 15. The finals begin Oct 15. And end Oct. 22, when a winner will be announced.
Christine Burgardt, Kade Burgardt's mother, decided to enter him because, to her, he has been a superhero for years.
“One reason the Stan Lee’s Super Kid message of inclusion and literacy means so much to our family, just like comics can be enjoyed and understood by people from all different backgrounds, we believe every child deserves the opportunity to learn, communicate, create and find their place in the world,” Christine Burgardt said. “He’s always had a positive attitude growing up, no matter what, he reaches out to people.”
Kade said his favorite superhero is the Flash because he is “super fast” and helps a lot of people. Kade said he wants to work hard, improve his times in cross country and help people when they need it.
Kade has followed superheroes for years. He watched Marvel movies, and the Hulk was once a favorite because green is his favorite color. The Flash eventually moved to the top spot. When asked why, Kade said he wanted to go fast and help people who need it.
The choice makes his mother smile.
“He wants to be the Flash, and he runs,” she said.
Kade checks in with teachers, encourages friends and cheers for teammates. His mother said teachers have approached her over the years to tell her how much they missed him after he moved on from a grade or school. Kade said he likes cheering on his teammates because it can help put a smile on someone’s face.
He has also found small ways to look out for family. When his grandmother gets out of a car, his mother said, Kade goes to her side to help her and stays close as she walks to the door.
Christine said When Kade was little, he had very few spoken words and relied on pictures to communicate.
“We would pray that he could just say hi, and tell someone his name,” Christine Burgardt said. “He doesn't really stand out as somebody having difficulties, and so it meant so much when he actually started doing those things.”
Now, Kade is comfortable telling people he learns differently. He communicates in his own way and readily shares what he enjoys, from superheroes to LEGO creations. His mother said his progress has come with support from family, friends and the teachers, staff and students of USD 489.
She especially wanted to recognize the special education teachers and paraprofessionals who work with Kade. They help him with classes including math, reading and history, and accompany him in other classes, such as shop, baking and culinary arts. Her mother said the support helps Kade continue learning alongside his classmates.
The competition’s message about kids being superheroes in their own way resonated with the family. Kade’s mother said the campaign’s connection to literacy and the Stan Lee Foundation felt meaningful because Kade once relied on pictures to communicate.
When asked what he hoped to do through the competition, Kade said he wanted to help make sure children learn to read.
His mother said Kade did not know she had entered him in the competition at first.
Teachers began asking him about voting, and he wondered what they were talking about. When his mother explained, she said he was ecstatic. Now he is happy to tell people about the competition.
Away from superheroes, Kade said he spends a lot of time creating. He likes building LEGO sets, but he also enjoys taking pieces apart and turning them into something new.
“I like to build Legos,” Kade said. “I have a lot of creativity in my head.”
He is currently working on a dinosaur from “Jurassic World Rebirth.” Past creations have included cars, roller coasters and semi-trucks, some of them even motorized. He also likes drawing and gaming.
Kade said when it comes to pizza, he has a clear favorite: extra cheese and garlic seasoning.
Kade said he brings pizza for lunch to school every day.
Through a school work-study program, Kade also works at Papa Murphy’s on gold days for about an hour. He helps make pizzas, add toppings, wrap orders and wash dishes.
Kade said his favorite part is having things to do. He said the slow times can be boring because he likes to stay busy. His mother recalled that he received a tip on his first day for his behavior.
Before Papa Murphy’s, Kade worked at the local pool. When asked what he liked about that job, he said he wanted to make sure people were safe and having fun. His mother said he enjoyed the work enough to pick up extra shifts.
If Kade wins, his biggest concern is going to Comic-Con. He said he has never been to Comic-Con and when asked what he would do first, Kade said he would have no idea because of how excited he would be. Though he did say he might dress up, too as a superhero.
His mother said being featured in a comic would be an incredible experience for someone who loves superheroes. She imagines a story that shows Kade’s positivity and perhaps gives him some speed, like the Flash.
Kade has also talked about his future in a way that keeps him close to home. He has imagined building a house behind his family’s home in Catharine, where he could stay near the generations of his family who live there.
His mother hopes the competition will help people see not only how far Kade has come, but who he is now: a young man who works, runs, draws, builds, dreams and looks for ways to help people around him.
“I want everyone to understand that I’m very friendly,” Kade said.
A QR code accompanying this story links to Kade’s competition page, where readers can find more information about the public voting for the Colossal’s Super Kid Competition.
