A Miss Utah hopeful made a high school junior the envy of his class when she invited him to homecoming last week
A beauty queen has helped a bullied high school student get the last laugh on his peers.
Michael Conrad, a junior at Taylorsville High School who has autism and ADHD, received a fake invitation to homecoming that left him upset and his mother ‘sick to her stomach’.
The culprits, who are yet to be identified, egged his home and left a note saying: ‘I’m sorry for the mess. But how about I make it up to you by taking you to Homecoming?’ Fox News reported.
The note was attributed to a friend of Michael’s, but when he confronted her about it, she denied all knowledge and told him she already had a date.
Michael’s uncle said on Twitter the teenager had: ‘tried to hide the hurt when this happened but it was obvious that he was upset inside’.
Hearing about the cruel prank, debating teacher Jenn Palomino said she was heartbroken, and determined to help right the wrong.
She contacted Miss Greater Salt Lake, Dexonna Talbot, and asked if she might be able to help salvage her student’s homecoming experience.
Dexonna Talbot (left) is Miss Greater Salt Lake, and hoping to be crowned Miss Utah in a few months. She intervened when Michael (right), who has autism, was fake-asked to the homecoming dance. Talbot said hearing about the cruel prank brought her to tears, and she wanted to help set things right
Talbot, who will compete for Miss Utah in the next few months, said she felt called to act the second she heard about the fake invitation.
‘The second I heard about this, I knew I wanted to do something,’ she said.
‘I automatically broke down into tears, because just thinking about the fact that someone would go out of their way to make someone else feel bad is so heartbreaking to me.’
Holding a sign covered in Starburst – Michael’s favorite candy, Talbot was filmed entering his high school classroom last week to ask him to homecoming – for real this time.
Standing up, he can be heard responding with an enthusiastic: ‘Sure!’
As the pair chat, Michael’s classmates can be heard applauding the unlikely match.
On Saturday, Talbot shared photographs of the pair ahead of the big dance.
Michael’s uncle said he had tried to hide the hurt, but was clearly torn up about the cruel prank. When Talbot came to his class to ask if he’d go with her, he can be heard enthusiastically replying: ‘Sure’
Michael’s family were equally hurt by the cruel prank. But his mother Jennifer said because of it, her son had ‘the time of his life’ at the big dance
‘Had the time of my life with the coolest, funniest, kindest and most amazing guy at homecoming tonight,’ she wrote.
‘Micheal you are one of a kind. I am so humbled by this experience. Bullying sucks and kindness ALWAYS wins.’
Speaking to friends on Facebook, Michael’s mother Jennifer said she still doesn’t know who played the cruel prank on her son, but the family have chosen to focus on the positives.
‘We don’t know who did it, but to us it doesn’t matter,’ she said. ‘Through this experience our sweet boy was able to have the time of his life.’
‘I just hope [the bullies] realize that you should [not] tear someone down to try and make yourself look cool.’
In a Facebook status, Talbot said she had a great time at the dance with the: ‘coolest, funniest, kindest and most amazing guy’