Special Needs Student Wins Prom Queen in Landslide Vote

Katie Shipley was born with a rare chromosome disorder, and was not supposed to make it to her 18th birthday. But, the Beaverton, Oregon native attended Southridge High School’s senior prom, and her friends made her dream come true: she was crowned prom queen.

Earlier in the year, she had told her friends about her dream to be prom queen, and they convinced the prom committee to add her name to the ballot.

She waited alongside the five other nominees, and learned that she had won in a landslide. Her name received 200 votes, the most in her school’s history.

Joan Fraley, Katie Shipley’s grandmother, had some touching words for her grandaughter:

“This shows them that you’re just like everybody else. You are beautiful, you are precious, God loves you just the way he made you — and [you] shine.”

She was crowned alongside classmate Michael Parks.