Senior prom: a night high school students spend dancing, laughing, chatting and eating with their friends. Some are lucky enough to be there with a special guy or girl.
Thomas Huffman posed for a photo with some of his dates for the prom, from left, Alpha Xi Delta members Sydney Miller, Kirsten Zalewski, Becca Potts, Maddie Burke, Gabbi Radford, Sydney Helsinger, Liz Russell, Jenn Lohrman, Courtney Howe, Broghan Gasser, Megan Graber and Corinne Porter.
Thomas has level-one autism, which prevented him from enjoying dances throughout high school. So when Huffman’s parents told her that her brother didn’t have a prom group with less than a week before the big night, she got the idea to ask her sorority sisters if they would be interested in being his dates. Alpha Xi Delta’s philanthropy is Autism Speaks, the world’s leading autism science and advocacy organization.
Sixteen members of the sorority attended Lima Central Catholic’s prom April 25.
“It was a complete surprise,” Huffman said. “He had no idea we were coming.”
Jennifer Huffman, vice president of programs for Alpha Xi Delta, gave a hug to her brother, Thomas, before he left for the prom.
Each girl took a turn dancing with Thomas during the song.
“He’s never really done something like this before, so I just thought it was really cool that everyone drove down for him,” Huffman said. “It made it a really special time for him.”
After the sorority girls left, Thomas was awarded prom king. While receiving his crown, “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King,” another classic tune from Thomas’s favorite film, was played.
“It’s my favorite memory of Alpha Xi Delta so far,” said Gabrielle Radford, a sophomore majoring in exercise science and member of the sorority. “It was so great standing in that circle dancing with him; we were all starting to cry, and he sang every single word to [‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’]. It was just such a great night.”
Thomas graduated May 9. He plans to attend the Lima branch of Ohio State University this fall.
