Dunwoody High School in Dunwoody, Georgia, elected two very unique students to its 2014 homecoming court; its new homecoming queen, Hannah Keen, has Downs syndrome, while its new homecoming king, Gus Ashbury, has Autism.
The two were nominated by their fellow seniors into a pool of twenty total candidates and handily won the election, sweeping the school’s twelve hundred student voters. Hannah was escorted out to the football field at halftime by her older brother, while Gus escorted his mother.
The two beamed brightly at they were crowned and were given commemorative plaques to mark the occasion, later posing for pictures of the court taken by a classmate. Loud cheers resounded from the Wildcat bleachers as students and townspeople celebrated alongside the newly minted homecoming king and queen, who reign through the year until new royals are elected after their 2015 graduation.
Gus reported being very happy–and slightly sweaty–that he had won the crown; his mother chimed in that everyone was wearing big smiles on this biggest of high school nights.
Hannah noted the unexpected enormity of the gesture, with the fierce sincerity of her fellow students turning what might have been a cruel prank into an unexpectedly touching milestone for acceptance.