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MsSissy
xoxoxo
Member since 3/07 39159 total posts
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A feel good story from Huntington High School!
I actually cried reading this.
Newsday
Long Island teens with Down syndrome voted prom king, queen
When Meghan Latini was born with Down syndrome, mom Marianne hoped Meghan's peers would include her in their world — but she never imagined they would one day vote Meghan Huntington High School prom queen.
Meghan and her boyfriend, fellow senior Brendan Higgins, who also has Down syndrome, won queen and king by a landslide: The members of the senior class of 2012 crowned the couple royalty at the Woodbury Country Club last week.
“It made me feel like a little princess,” Meghan said. “They gave me a crown and a little sash.” Meghan said Brendan “looked really handsome” in his tuxedo, with a vest and tie that matched Meghan’s strapless, pink, formal dress.
Brendan is at sleep-away camp this week and couldn’t be reached for comment. But his mom, Jackie Higgins, called the senior class vote “a beautiful thing for them to do,” saying it speaks volumes about the students at Huntington High School: “Children with special needs aren’t always included and are not always embraced. Anybody with a difference is not always accepted so easily.”
The teachers counting the votes were “blown away,” said teacher Lauren Desiderio. “Pretty much everyone voted for them,” she said.
Meghan, 17, and Brendan, 18, have been dating for four years. While they were in a life skills program at Huntington High for some of their academic hours, they were also in some mainstream classes. Both participated in the drama club, and Latini swam on the girls’ swim team.
The two were born three months apart; they went to the same preschool at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church in Centerport. “They always wanted to date,” said Jackie Higgins. “We said, ‘You’re too young, you’re too young.’ Then they got older and we had to let them date. They are a great couple. They take very good care of each other.”
Said Meghan: “Our most favorite thing is going to the movies. Brendan knows every single movie and he tells me about them. He would know what’s coming out soon. My favorite thing about Brendan is how much he loves me. He makes me feel special and beautiful.”
Meghan and Brendan were first voted as best couple in the school yearbook. Then came the nomination for prom king and queen, which they knew about for a couple of weeks before prom night. But there’s a difference between being nominated and actually winning the crown. Meghan and Brendan were not the typical choice, Marianne Latini said. “I didn’t really think that in the end they were going to win,” she said.
“In the couple of weeks between nomination and prom, we tried to prepare her for how to react graciously and with class if she didn’t win,” said Meghan’s dad, Joe Latini. “She could be very dramatic. She could cry. I said, ‘No crying.’”
Meghan said she was confident she might win because a lot of her friends told her they were rooting for her. Meghan’s older sister, Caitlin, 26, and also a Huntington High School graduate, did Meghan’s hair for her. Brendan gave Meghan a corsage of pink flowers, and the couple traveled to the prom in a limousine. When Brendan and Meghan were named king and queen, they shared a dance.
Annie Coffey, a fellow graduating senior, was one of the people who voted for Meghan and Brendan. She said when their nomination was initially announced at school, she was in her physics class and "it was just like general concensus that we were all voting for them."
"I've been going to school with Meghan and Brendan since kindergarten," Coffey said. "When you get to discover the amazing people they really are, it was just so easy to want it for them really badly. To see them get that moment, it was absolutely incredible."
Meghan and Brendan graduated from Huntington High School last Friday, the day after prom. Next year, they will both participate in a job training program on Long Island.
“For these kids to succeed, it’s very nourishing,” said Joe Latini, who at first couldn't believe Brendan and Meghan clinched the king and queen titles. “This kind of stuff, it keeps her moving forward and encourages her to try challenges she might not otherwise go for.”
Message edited 6/29/2012 10:31:57 AM.
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Posted 6/29/12 10:24 AM  |
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Long Island Weddings
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Karen
Just chillin'!!
Member since 1/06 9690 total posts
Name:
Karen
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A feel good story from Huntington High School!
I love this story! Kudos to the students and parents of Huntington High!
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| Posted 6/29/12 10:46 AM |
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8ternity
<3
Member since 11/08 10586 total posts
Name:
Formally NYPD-Wife
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Re: A feel good story from Huntington High School!
So Awesome!! Good for the students for voting for them. Very touching!
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| Posted 6/29/12 10:47 AM |
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nrthshgrl
It goes fast. Pay attention.
Member since 7/05 57538 total posts
Name:
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A feel good story from Huntington High School!
Great story!
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| Posted 6/29/12 11:00 AM |
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MrsM429
Mama x2 <3
Member since 12/10 4946 total posts
Name:
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Re: A feel good story from Huntington High School!
brings tears to my eyes, that is so sweet 
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| Posted 6/29/12 11:02 AM |
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TreAnt427
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Member since 8/06 8652 total posts
Name:
Tracy
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Re: A feel good story from Huntington High School!
I just read this on newsday, Great story!
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| Posted 6/29/12 11:16 AM |
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racheK
Hudson's Momma
Member since 10/10 2853 total posts
Name:
Rachel
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Re: A feel good story from Huntington High School!
Love this story.
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| Posted 6/29/12 11:40 AM |
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lvdolphins
My Loves!
Member since 5/05 46292 total posts
Name:
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Re: A feel good story from Huntington High School!
 Love it!
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| Posted 6/29/12 2:20 PM |
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Goobster
:)
Member since 5/07 27557 total posts
Name:
:)
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Re: A feel good story from Huntington High School!
That is a story out of a storybook...kwim? How awesome!!!
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| Posted 6/29/12 2:27 PM |
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neener1211
:-)
Member since 4/07 22952 total posts
Name:
J
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Re: A feel good story from Huntington High School!
That is awesome! Congrats to them!!
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| Posted 6/29/12 2:30 PM |
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jams92
Member since 1/12 6105 total posts
Name:
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Re: A feel good story from Huntington High School!
such a great story!
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| Posted 6/29/12 2:50 PM |
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Bearcat
Love my little girls!!! <3
Member since 6/10 10818 total posts
Name:
E
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Re: A feel good story from Huntington High School!
so glad i read this, great story
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| Posted 6/29/12 3:29 PM |
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dctead
It's 5 o'clock somewhere!
Member since 11/10 2139 total posts
Name:
Emily
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Re: A feel good story from Huntington High School!
Just the kind of story I needed to read today... that's awesome!
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| Posted 6/29/12 3:51 PM |
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AidansArmy
LIF Adult
Member since 3/11 1292 total posts
Name:
Suzanne
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A feel good story from Huntington High School!
This is beautiful!
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| Posted 6/29/12 9:00 PM |
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CouponKT
Our family is complete
Member since 6/06 16494 total posts
Name:
K
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Re: A feel good story from Huntington High School!
I LOVE this story!!!!!!!
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| Posted 6/29/12 10:42 PM |
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drpepper318
MIR MIR MIR!
Member since 6/07 8274 total posts
Name:
me
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Re: A feel good story from Huntington High School!
That is so sweet.
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| Posted 6/29/12 10:49 PM |
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tourist
Member since 5/05 10425 total posts
Name:
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A feel good story from Huntington High School!
Cute story, but why do the sashes say homecoming, and not prom?
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| Posted 6/30/12 2:54 PM |
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Jax430
Hi!
Member since 5/05 18919 total posts
Name:
Jackie
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Re: A feel good story from Huntington High School!
Aw, I love this!
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| Posted 6/30/12 8:30 PM |
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Re: A feel good story from Huntington High School!
Wonderful story. I bet that a lot of kids will make a true effort to keep in touch with the couple.
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| Posted 6/30/12 9:35 PM |
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