Kindness Gone Viral
A Heartfelt Homecoming: Plano Senior Takes Special-Needs Sophomore To Dance
When Hannah Robins saw Jared Silvas enter the classroom on the first day of school, she knew she had to talk to him.
Confined to a wheelchair, Jared, a sophomore at Hebron High School, seemed largely ignored and Hannah, a senior, made it her goal to get to know him. “I instantly knew I had to introduce myself. I was the only one to talk with him. Now everybody talks to him.”
Bullied when she was younger, Hannah, of Plano, said she knows what it’s like to not fit in and be judged by other people for being different.
While Jared may be physically underdeveloped, he’s not cognitively affected, and Hannah said she’s enjoyed spending time with him.“He’s very sarcastic, and I think it’s great,” she said. “He’s really funny.”
A few weeks after they met, Hannah devised a plan to ask Jared to homecoming. She found out Jared loves the Dallas Cowboys, She bought a football and decorated it with blue, black and silver sequins and fabric. In the center, she attached a star embellished with the words, “Let’s tackle Homecoming together.”
She told their teacher her plan and waited for Jared to arrive before popping the question. He immediately accepted her proposal.“Everybody in the class cheered him on and were taking pictures,” she said. “The whole class kind of came together.
Hannah’s mother, Janell, said her daughter has always held a special place in her heart for those considered different. The 17-year-old has participated in every club that has given her the opportunity to interact with special-needs students, and she plans to turn that compassion into a career.
Janell said Hannah hadn’t planned on attending homecoming until she met Jared. The dance wasn’t even the highlight for the senior; her most cherished moment was when she met Jared at dinner.
“He had the biggest smile on his face and he seemed like he was just so excited to be there. I’ve never seen him so happy,” she said. “That just absolutely made my heart melt. I couldn’t have had a better night. We didn’t even have to go to a dance; as long as he was happy, I was.”
Confined to a wheelchair, Jared, a sophomore at Hebron High School, seemed largely ignored and Hannah, a senior, made it her goal to get to know him. “I instantly knew I had to introduce myself. I was the only one to talk with him. Now everybody talks to him.”
Bullied when she was younger, Hannah, of Plano, said she knows what it’s like to not fit in and be judged by other people for being different.
While Jared may be physically underdeveloped, he’s not cognitively affected, and Hannah said she’s enjoyed spending time with him.“He’s very sarcastic, and I think it’s great,” she said. “He’s really funny.”
A few weeks after they met, Hannah devised a plan to ask Jared to homecoming. She found out Jared loves the Dallas Cowboys, She bought a football and decorated it with blue, black and silver sequins and fabric. In the center, she attached a star embellished with the words, “Let’s tackle Homecoming together.”
She told their teacher her plan and waited for Jared to arrive before popping the question. He immediately accepted her proposal.“Everybody in the class cheered him on and were taking pictures,” she said. “The whole class kind of came together.
Hannah’s mother, Janell, said her daughter has always held a special place in her heart for those considered different. The 17-year-old has participated in every club that has given her the opportunity to interact with special-needs students, and she plans to turn that compassion into a career.
Janell said Hannah hadn’t planned on attending homecoming until she met Jared. The dance wasn’t even the highlight for the senior; her most cherished moment was when she met Jared at dinner.
“He had the biggest smile on his face and he seemed like he was just so excited to be there. I’ve never seen him so happy,” she said. “That just absolutely made my heart melt. I couldn’t have had a better night. We didn’t even have to go to a dance; as long as he was happy, I was.”