There was no emergency at Northbridge High School in Massachusetts Tuesday morning, but the response from police and fire was overwhelming.
It even brought some people to tears when a very special student got a very special welcome from the principal, his peers and his parents.
When asked, “So when you got out and everyone was cheering for you, how did that make you feel?”
"It felt good," junior Sean Beckman said when asked how it felt for everyone to be cheering for him as he got out.
Beckman has Down syndrome, and while that may make some things difficult for him, he makes every day brighter for his teachers, classmates and his sister, Alex.
"Everyone loves Sean, everyone knows Sean, they say hi to him in the hallway," Alex Beckman said. "They know who he is. It's just, it's nice knowing that he has a bunch of friends out there for him."
Sean Beckham is part of Northbridge High School's Best Buddies chapter, where students with developmental or intellectual disabilities are paired with social peer mentors.
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"And they're able to learn from them, initiate and maintain long-term friendships," said Best Buddies advisor and NHS speech language pathologist Amanda Fantucchio.
"He's really changed the way that I approach things and really has a positive attitude all the time," added junior Lauren Girouard, who's part of Best Buddies. "He just motivates everyone and puts a smile on everyone's face."
Beckham won the police escort to school as part of an inclusion fair between Best Buddies and the Tri-M music national honor society called Friend Fest.
"It was a great experience for me," said school resource officer Thomas Dejordy. "It was a great experience for the school. Hopefully Sean enjoyed it. I think he did."
