James Logan Senior Recalls His Extra Special Prom Night

By Tom Hu

When Head Track and Field Coach Lee Webb first suggested I ask Tanisha Neal, a Special Olympics Track and Field athlete at , to prom, I didn't know he was serious.

I had been working with her for several years as a volunteer with the Special Olympics team. One day during a meeting with distance runners, myself included, the topic of prom came up. Coach Webb singled me out, looked me in the eye and told me how much it would mean to her if I took her to prom.

"It would make her night," he said.

I slept on the idea, and I liked it. Honestly, I didn’t believe taking Tanisha to prom would make as much of an impact as Coach Webb thought it would.

But Tanisha spends most of each day in a group home with a number of other special needs adults, which doesn’t offer the excitement and intensity of a high school prom. And as a high school girl, I know she wants to do high school girl things.

Since Tanisha uses a wheelchair, I had some of my friends make a sign that said “Tanisha will you ROLL with me to Prom?” I included on the poster a little picture of an electric wheelchair for sentimental purposes.

I asked Coach Webb if she’d say "yes," and he said that she had been saying "yes" all day —  as word had gotten around the special needs community at Logan.

I discussed logistics with her group home guardians and everything was settled. I paid for her ticket by working for other students, and one of her teachers bought Tanisha her dress and shoes and did her makeup on prom night.

Prom was June 4, and I was overcome with excitement and anticipation for the night to come as I met her at the venue in San Francisco.  I took her in and introduced her to countless  numbers of my friends, and they all said she looked stunning — because she did. She was the star of the show.

She finally agreed to move down to the dance floor, and I grabbed her hands and we moved to the music as her smile grew by the second. Her smiles were what fed my energy. My friends would come by and holler as they moved to the music with her.

When some rappers came on stage and called all the ladies to the front, I brought "T," as I call her, there — it was only natural. And I made sure she got a CD when they were throwing them into the rowdy crowd.

The night went on like that: Us dancing as I held her hands. When she was tired I helped her by using the control stick on her wheelchair. Her smiles, big as they were, were priceless. Also very touching was the number of people willing to help clear the path as I moved her around the dance floor. Sure, there was some rudeness, but there were plenty of good-hearted actions, too.

In the end, I didn’t just transform her night, she transformed mine. She showed me that fun is derived from a state of mind, not a fulfillment of expectations.

Coach Webb was happy for Tanisha, but he was also happy for me, and now, I completely understand why. It was a blessing taking Tanisha Neal to prom.

Tom Hu is a senior and current captain of the cross country team at James Logan High School. He has participated in the school's and was an of Measure B. Read this article about him in the James Logan Courier.