Brighten Your Day

Pageant Queen Asks Bullied Junior To Homecoming After Cruel Prank

September 22, 2018

Michael Conrad, a junior at Taylorsville High School in Utah, was excited to get an invitation to the homecoming dance from a cheerleader, but devastated to learn it was a cruel prank by a bully.

When word of the incident spread, Conrad's teacher, Jenn Palomino, was heartbroken. So, she phoned a friend.

Palomino reached out to former Miss Lehi, Caitlin Thomas, who reached out to another friend, current Miss Greater Salt Lake, Dexonna Talbot.

"The second I heard about this, I knew I wanted to do something," Talbot told KSL TV. "I automatically broke down into tears, because just thinking about the fact that someone would go out of their way to make someone else feel bad is so heartbreaking to me."

Talbot walked into Conrad's class on Tuesday and asked him to homecoming in front of all his peers.

One of my students was recently the target of a bullying incident where some kids decided to make up a fake homecoming proposal. Well jokes on them because today Miss Greater Salt Lake came and asked HIM to homecoming. Bullying is lame and kindness always wins. pic.twitter.com/wgWBPAKEcC

— Taylorsville Debate (@tvilledebate) September 18, 2018

Talbot says she plans to spend both the afternoon and evening with Conrad, going to an arcade, before arriving at the dance. 

After word of the date spread, one local business even donated a limo rental for the occasion.

"I've never been to a dance in a limo!" Talbot exclaimed. "I wanted to make sure that this was a homecoming and experience that he remembers in a positive way."

Conrad doesn't know who left the fake note, but he says he's not worried about it.

"You can't pin me down," he said. "I'll always get back up."