Hersey student with Down syndrome makes homecoming history
Around the halls of Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, students still call senior Jamie Brooks "the queen."
One week ago, Jamie made history at the school and Northwest Suburban High School District 214 when she was the first student with Down syndrome to be elected homecoming queen.
"This was not a gratuitous nomination," said Principal Gordon Sisson. "She is incredibly popular and very extroverted. The kids absolutely adore her."
Jamie's life has returned somewhat to normal this week, with her career life skills classes, and her part-time job at Ikea in Schaumburg as part of Hersey's work-study program. But the Arlington Heights resident still likes to talk about her historic two weeks of being nominated to the homecoming court and ultimately being crowned.
"I had my fingers crossed," she said. "When they announced my name, I was jumping up and down."
Her homecoming adventure included being crowned at an all-school assembly with her king, senior Brett Miller of Arlington Heights. The pair rode in a convertible during a parade before the football game, and they attended the homecoming dance together the next night.
"I wore three different dresses," Jamie said about the different events. "And I had to practice getting my wave down."
Just to be considered for the court, students at Hersey have to be in good academic standing and be involved in at least three clubs and activities at the school.
Jamie participates in more than the minimum, but she named her three favorites: Super Singers, in which students with disabilities partner with choral students; Dynamite Dancers, made up of Orchesis members and special needs students; and Super Buddies, which pairs students during community service projects.
Outside school, Jamie participates in programs offered by UPS for DownS, or United Parent Support for Down syndrome, which is based in Schaumburg. Of special interest for Jamie are the musicals mounted each spring.
Last year, she was one of two teens cast in the lead role of Tracy Turnblad in "Hairspray." Later this month, she will audition at Conant High School for a role in "Music Man."
"I just love singing, dancing and acting," Jamie said.
On Thursday alone, after Jamie returned from her job at Ikea, she attended afternoon classes before rehearsing with Super Singers. She then traveled to a girls swim meet between Hersey and Buffalo Grove high schools to cheer on swimmers during a fundraiser for Special Olympics.
It's a busy schedule for her, yet her mother, Cynthia Brooks said Jamie loves every minute of it and especially loves interacting with her classmates.
"I remember when Jamie and (her twin brother) Max were born, and I learned then that Jamie had Down syndrome," Cynthia Brooks said. "My worst fear was that she wasn't going to be accepted and that she would be bullied.
"But the kids have embraced her, and in the process they've learned about special needs," she adds. "So it's all worked out."