Drew Schroeder has Down syndrome, but he hasn’t let his diagnosis stand in the way of forming relationships with his classmates. Fox 8 reports that the 19-year-old high schooler is so popular that he was elected prom king at Midview High School in Columbia Station, Ohio, on Saturday.
The news station first reported last week that Schroeder’s classmates campaigned for him to be nominated for prom king — an honor typically reserved for a football player — by creating t-shirts, signs, and posters placed online and around the school.
Though Schroeder’s speech is limited, he is able to communicate via an AAC device. He expressed his gratitude for the support of his friends, saying, “I am very thankful for my buddies.”
Saturday evening, the hard work of campaigning paid off, as Schroeder was elected prom king in front of a large cheering crowd of his classmates.
“It’s like everything. He’s earned it. He’s made so many people’s days for his whole life,” his friend Ashton Johnson told Fox 8.
“Every single day, you see him in the hall, he comes up to you and gives you a big hug. He’s always dancing, always smiling. He’s just a happy kid,” added Cameron West.
According to Schroeder’s intervention specialist Katie Hicks, he has had a lot to overcome in the past several years, including two surgeries to remove a softball-size tumor from his spine — procedures which left him needing to learn to walk all over again.
“Drew has overcome a lot of different challenges in his life, medically, academically, but has always overcome them,” she said. “He has strong resilience.”
The positive impact Schroeder has on his friends and schoolmates is a reminder that though Down syndrome is often portrayed as a disadvantage — so much so that parents are often pressured to abort — people living with Down syndrome have the ability to experience joy and leave a lasting impression, just like everyone else.
