Granite Falls students make homecoming heartwarming

Published 10:06 pm Friday, October 22, 2010

A Knight for a Princess, that’s the theme of the homecoming dance Saturday at Granite Falls High School. For one teenage couple, it’s sure to be a night unlike any other.

Justine Hagan and Jacob Byron were elected by the sophomore class as homecoming royalty. They aren’t homecoming king and queen, that honor goes to seniors. Still, all eyes will likely be on this pair as they ride in a convertible around the football field during halftime at tonight’s homecoming game.

When they take the dance floor in the gym Saturday, fellow students will see what it means to honor one very special knight and his sweet princess.

“I knew it would make their day,” said sophomore Kalyn Walker. “I knew Justine would love it.”

Jacob and Justine are special-education students in the school’s life skills program.

Seventeen-year-old Justine has Down syndrome. She has cognitive delays and was born with heart defects. Jacob, 16, was born with Prader-Willi syndrome, a congenital disorder characterized by insatiable appetite and delayed mental and motor development.

Kalyn is a varsity cheerleader at Granite Falls High. She’s aiming for a career in real estate or law enforcement. She is also Justine’s good friend.

They are buddies through the school’s Heroes Club, which pairs students in special education with other students for outings, lunches and friendship. Life skills teacher Nikki Connor said the club takes its name from “helping everyone reach out.”

Kalyn, 15, did more than reach out. On purpose, she lost out — to Justine in the voting for sophomore homecoming princess.

As president of the Heroes Club, she wanted to help get special education kids more involved in social activities. When the homecoming court selection process began, Kalyn said she and a friend, Kelsey Loth, spread the word. They asked the school’s 160 sophomores to nominate Justine and Jacob.

“Everybody was so happy they got nominated,” said Kalyn, who also ended up among the nominees. “I sent out a text to vote for Justine and Jacob,” Kalyn said.

Winners were announced Monday at an assembly, where Justine and Jacob were dressed in dance finery. “When Justine and Jacob were named winners, the whole school just went ‘Ahhh,’ ” Connor said.

“I really don’t know if she knows everything that’s going on. She sure likes wearing her crown,” said Kristine Hagan, Justine’s mother.

Tammy Byron, Jacob’s mother, said her son loves school, and sees himself as following in the footsteps of his 19-year-old sister, who was a student leader before graduation.

“We’ve been blessed in Granite Falls. The Heroes Club that Nikki started is just an amazing program,” Byron said. “And Kalyn Walker is a beautiful young girl. She gave up this very popular thing, asking her friends to vote for them instead.”

At school Wednesday, Kalyn put her arm around Justine and said, “Do you love it?” Justine answered shyly, “Yeah, Kalyn’s my friend.”

“Kalyn is Justine’s hero, but Justine is also Kalyn’s hero,” Connor said.

Jacob and Justine are not only life-skills classmates, they are boyfriend and girlfriend.

“He says he’s going to marry her. I’m glad they found each other,” Kristine Hagan said.

As infants and children, both weathered serious health problems.

By the time she was 11 months old, Justine had undergone two open-heart surgeries. She now has mechanical heart valves. “She’s doing really well now,” Justine’s mother said. “I know she knows she’s different, and gets frustrated. But she has a really good outlook. She’s very happy.”

Because of Jacob’s constant hunger, his family keeps cupboards and their refrigerator locked. “When he was very tiny, he’d tell us there was a monster in his stomach,” Byron said. “He is a Type 1 diabetic, so that can be a deadly combination.”

Between 8 and 11, Jacob had three spinal surgeries. “The third one was a total spine fusion,” Tammy Byron said. Funny, happy and devoted to Justine, Jacob now wants to be a firefighter or work in a pet store, his mother said.

The future comes soon enough. For now, Justine and Jacob are royalty.

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460, muhlstein@heraldnet.com.