Holton Seniors Honor Special Classmates at Prom

From WIBW.com:

Ashley Schirmer excited talked about the Special Olympics events she'd be competing in - from the softball throw to the 100-meter dash.

"I'm gonna win!" she proclaimed.

Fellow Holton High School senior Jed Lux would be there, too. The 50-meter dash was his big event.

It's easy to see how these two students with Down Syndrome have won over their classmates. Senior Cory Wilson says anytime you're having a bad day, you walk into the hall and see them smiling and you smile. Breanna Eck agreed - their smiles make you happy.

Ashley and Jed have been part of the class since first grade. Their classmates never excluded them. So when it came time for senior prom, Ashley and Jed joined in. Ashley donned a pink gown, and Jed put on a tux - with Ashley as his date.

But just having them at the dance wasn't enough. Their classmates wanted something more.

"We've always been in the spotlight and they never really have," Cory said. "We felt they needed time in the spotlight."

The seniors at Holton elected Ashley and Jed their prom king and queen. Ashley remembers having a crown put on her head, and she and Jed danced.

"We circled around them while they danced," senior Alicia Coverdale described the scene. "There were so many cameras going off it was like light. It was amazing. They're the sweethearts of our school."

It was a moment the students say they'll always remember for all Ashley and Jed have taught them over the years.

For Cory, it's that there's never a bad day and there's always something to smile about. For Breanna, it's that life's too short to care about the drama and to always live life to the fullest. And for Alicia, Ashley and Jed represent the best of their class.

"They represent how we want to be and how we wish to be in the future," she says.

Watch the video report here

Awesome story to start my day with. Thanks for sharing that with us. It is good to know there is such a group of selfless kids out there.

Very cool!

That's awesome, these kids will remember this for the rest of thier lives.

Very Cool deal and that was so sweet of the kids to think of them like that.

they look so cute in their prom duds:) what a great bunch of kids....they rock

suzyr wrote:

Ya beat me to it, T.O.O.

It's a great story! I'm glad WIBW featured it.

I don't usually watch the 10:00 local news during basketball playoff season, but we happened to be watching CSI:Miami last night and didn't change the channel when it was over. After seeing that story, I was glad that I caught the news.