Special Needs Student at Santa Ana High School Is Asked to Homecoming Dance With Help From Fire Department

Stella Macias, 17, asked Jesus Elias, who has an intellectual disability, to the homecoming dance, and the 14-year-old boy accepted.

While firefighters held up signs that read "Will you be my fireman," and "Homecoming is going to be a hot night," the two students embraced.

Stella, who is a senior, wanted to include Jesus in the upcoming dance.

"You should get to live the high school experience that we all get to live, their disability does not define them," Stella said.

"I have like 20 family members with a disability, and I don't know, I grew up with them, and to me they weren't any different," she said.

She knows not everyone feels that way, so she started the "Best Buddies Club," an non-profit organization that pairs up students with special needs students, at her school. That is how Stella met Jesus, and she said she now wants to be a special education teacher.

"I grew this friendship with him because, he's just fun and spirited, and it reminds me so much of me, because I'm spirited," Stella said, adding that she loves Jesus.

Since he loves firefighters Stella called up the Orange County Fire Authority to help out with the proposal. Jesus got to dress up as a firefighter and board a truck that came to the school.

Other students in the Best Buddies club got to don the fire gear as well.

Stella and Jesus' principal supported Stella's decision to hold the proposal event.

"No matter what the activity is, she always wants to make sure we recognize and we include our special needs kids," Principal Jeff Bishop told KTLA.

Jesus practiced his dance moves after the proposal Tuesday, so he is sure to be ready for the dance at the end of the month.