"Mom, I won, I won! I won Northman! Best night ever! I love North!"” Sam reacted when seniors at Shawnee Mission North named him Northman, a coveted title by any high schooler’s standards.
Sam’s mother Kelly Rogers was just as excited when sam called to tell her the news, “I was thrilled and cried when Sam was nominated and was in the top 20 nominated young men.”
When Sam’s friends nominated him, he was so excited, but that only made him want to win more. For Kelly, Sam had already won, “In my eyes, Sam ‘won’ just by being nominated. I was thrilled that the seniors at North thought so much of Sam that they would nominate him and vote for him for Northman.”
Similar to Homecoming or Prom King at other Schools, Northman begins with the Top 20 nominations. Those are narrowed down to 10, the top 3, and finally the winner.
When SMN announced the Top 3 nominees at a basketball game, Sam was ecstatic, and everybody but Sam seemed to know that he had the competition in the bag.
At a school assembly Shawnee Mission North seniors voted Sam to victory as Northman, officially. Sam’s reaction? Pure joy. See for yourself. The moment before Sam was announced the winner his fellow nominees were anticipated his reaction, pointing, looking, etc.
Sam's sister, a teacher, found out about Sam's nomination from the Down Syndrome Guild's Facebook, while she was at school. "I think she screamed! She was so excited!" Kelly remarks.
College life may be around the corner, but Sam is not in a hurry to move on from high school. He’s loved his experience at SMN. Kelly can see why, “He truly loves going to school at North. The student body there is so accepting of people's differences and always has been. Sam has really been embraced there by the other students. There are some of the most amazing, kind,caring and compassionate young people at North. It has really been a joy to experience. It has been a wonderful community for Sam.”
Outside of school he likes to play video games, watch Disney Channel. One of his favorite people in the whole world is his brother in law, Brock. Kelly says, “The two of them play video games and do all kinds of stuff together. He likes to play basketball, play outside, normal kid stuff.”
In the future Sam plans to attend a technical school that provides job skills and life skills. He’ll be eligible until he’s 21, so his mother plans for him to study there until then. Sam’s looking forward to going to college after that, but for now he’s enjoying his reign as Northman.
Congrats Sam!
Congrats Sam!
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