Imagine you were asked to prom, but then you find out that the person who asked you asked someone else to prom as well.
At the St. Croix Central High School in Richmond, this unthinkable actually happened.
And the guy who thought of this extraordinary plan is a junior named Joey Wakeen.
Over the summer, Joey saved money by working at a farm to carry out his plan for prom. He then booked a limousine, dinner at a fancy restaurant, and got four corsages.
He first asked a senior named Ana Erickson, who happily said yes.
[rsnippet id=”4″ name=”DFP/34009881/Article_1″][rsnippet id=”7″ name=”fb-like-and-share”]
But, he didn’t stop then. He asked another senior named Erin Amundson, then Haley Boles, then Katie Kolakowski.
By the end of the day, he had asked four different girls to prom.
However, none of the girls were outraged. In fact, they were all touched by what he did.
It turned out that these seniors were student aides for Sharon Freitag’s Secondary Teacher for Cognitively Disabled classes. They assist students with Down Syndrome and other CD students every day in things like homework, crafts, and choir practices.
Since Joey has Downs Syndrome, these four seniors hung out with him and helped him every single day.
“They are my buddies,” said Joey when he did an interview with the New Richmond News.
It was Joey’s idea to surprise them before they all graduate and move away for college.
“I thought it was awesome,” said Ana. “It was unexpected. It was so sweet.. Getting the flower was like having the cherry on top of the cake.”
[rsnippet id=”5″ name=”DFP/34009881/Article_2″]
Haley also commented, saying that she started to cry when she saw Joey with a rose, waiting for her.
Since the four knew how expensive everything would have been, they offered to chip in. However, both Joey and his mom refused. Joey was adamant that he provide everything for his dates.
Now, they’re all looking forward to that special prom day – what a heartwarming gesture made by Joey!
[rsnippet id=”6″ name=”DFP/34009881/Article_3″]