Levittown teen perseveres for ‘amazing’ homecoming ride

Gen. Douglas MacArthur High School senior Julia Leogrande may not have won the title of homecoming queen last Saturday.

But it didn’t bother her.  As she explained, “I just like being included.”

It hasn’t been a typical path for Julia, who is affected by cerebral palsy but didn’t let that stop her from joining the nine other members of the 2017-18 homecoming court at the 50-yard line of the school’s athletic field before the beginning of the homecoming football game.

First, the king was named, with fellow senior Kevin Tarone winning the crown. Tarone just happened to be Leogrande’s escort during the parade. The two rode in a convertible and waved to the crowd, and when it came time to walk onto the field, Tarone walked with her, arm-in-arm.

“We hadn’t really met before all this, but he’s my friend now,” Leogrande noted.

Julia’s mom, Eileen Leogrande, echoed her daughter’s feelings.

“Kevin is awesome…,” said Eileen Leogrande. “We were having trouble finding a car [to ride in] for the parade — a teacher found one, and when we called him to tell him we did, he had actually almost secured a car for the parade, and he was going to surprise Julia with the good news, and wanted to make it special for her.”

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Julia is one of the students who delivers the morning announcements, and although she didn’t even announce her own spot on the homecoming court, she was there to hear someone else say it.

“I was there when they first announced the top 10 candidates, and I didn’t think I’d make that, and then definitely not the top five.”

When she did, Julia remembers, “I couldn’t believe it, when I watched them say I made it … it was amazing!”

The experience left her so encouraged that not winning the tiara didn’t spoil her experience.

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“Some people who have to deal with things like me might not want to try to do something like this,” Julia said. “…And you might not win, but you can always try.”