Miss Utah hopeful Dexonna Talbot helped right a wrong this past Saturday when she attended a high school homecoming dance with a bullied autistic boy after he was pranked by his classmates, according to KSTU-TV .
Jennifer Conrad, the mother of Taylorsville High School student Michael Conrad, told the television station that someone egged their home earlier in the month and left a note reportedly from one of the high school cheerleaders asking him to the big dance.
Michael Conrad knew the cheerleader and despite the egging, thought the note was real, his mother said.
“It had his friends name on it that he knows very well,” Jennifer Conrad told KSTU-TV . “And somebody had kissed the paper.”
But when Michael Conrad, who suffers from autism and ADHD, finally worked up the nerves to follow up on the supposed invitation and asked the cheerleader to homecoming, she informed him that it did not come from her and that she already had a date, his mother added.
“She said, Michael, I already have a date. I’m so sorry,” Jennifer Conrad, who admitted the incident made her angry, told the television station. “I had nothing to do with that. She felt bad. … I was out for blood. Mama bear was awoken.”
Fox News wrote that word about the prank spread through the school and Taylorsville debate teacher Jenn Palomino, who knew Talbot, the reigning Miss Greater Salt Lake, reached out to the beauty queen.
“The second I heard about this, I knew I wanted to do something,” Talbot said, noted Fox News . “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.”
Talbot, who is majoring in special education at the University of Utah, went to the school on Sept. 18 to personally invite Michael Talbot to homecoming in front of his classmates, equipped with a poster and a bucket of Starburst, the network stated. The incident, caught on video, went viral with more than 25,000 views, per Fox News .
One of my students was recently the target of a bullying incident where some kids decided to make up a fake homecoming proposal. Well jokes on them because today Miss Greater Salt Lake came and asked HIM to homecoming. Bullying is lame and kindness always wins. pic.twitter.com/wgWBPAKEcC
— Taylorsville Debate (@tvilledebate) September 18, 2018
Talbot, who will be running for Miss Utah next year, made good on her promise Saturday, posting pictures of them together on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/dexonna.talbot/posts/1811431135620597
“Had the time of my life with the coolest, funniest, kindest and most amazing guy at homecoming tonight,” Talbot wrote on Facebook. “Micheal you are one of a kind??HUGE THANKS to everyone who made this possible and pitched in allowing it to be an unforgettable night…”
“Mama Bear” had her revenge.
“This wasn’t a publicity stunt of any kind for her,” Jennifer Conrad told KSTU-TV . “She’s just got a tender heart. And she has really made my son’s year. So, thank you.”
