The homecoming king at a Central Florida high school hands his crown over to a classmate with special needs. When Merritt Island High School senior James Verpaele was crowned homecoming king last weekend, he did something no one in the crowd expected. He took his crown and sash and put them on his classmate Parks Finney.
Verpaele and the other contenders for the crown had decided before the announcement that whoever was made homecoming king would pass the honor on to Finney, who has Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL), a brain injury the 19-year-old suffered at birth. “All the senior guys got together, and we just kind of all agreed that Parks should get it,” Verpaele explains.
The moment brought Finney’s mom to tears. “You know we see a lot of criticism of teenagers, that they’re only into their phones and that they don’t care about what’s going on, but this shows that they do,” says Amy Finney. She’s grateful that her son’s classmates have been so accepting, but Verpaele says it’s been easy because Parks is so warm and welcoming. “He can strike up a conversation, he’s funny, he’s a nice guy and he’s the mayor. He’s ‘Mister Mayor’ is what we call him,” Verpaele says. “He’s just like a brother to all of us.”
Verpaele and the other contenders for the crown had decided before the announcement that whoever was made homecoming king would pass the honor on to Finney, who has Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL), a brain injury the 19-year-old suffered at birth. “All the senior guys got together, and we just kind of all agreed that Parks should get it,” Verpaele explains.
The moment brought Finney’s mom to tears. “You know we see a lot of criticism of teenagers, that they’re only into their phones and that they don’t care about what’s going on, but this shows that they do,” says Amy Finney. She’s grateful that her son’s classmates have been so accepting, but Verpaele says it’s been easy because Parks is so warm and welcoming. “He can strike up a conversation, he’s funny, he’s a nice guy and he’s the mayor. He’s ‘Mister Mayor’ is what we call him,” Verpaele says. “He’s just like a brother to all of us.”