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High school senior recruits New York Jets to help her invite friend to prom

NY Jets prom

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Michael Pagano, 18, asked his friend, Sarah Kardonsky, also 18, to the prom. She declined, as she already had a date.

And then she changed her mind.

The Division Avenue High School student from Levittown, New York, knew that her date, Steven Bornstein, a friend, would have no problem finding another date. So she asked him if it would be okay if she went with Pagano, a student with high-functioning autism, instead. Bornstein fully supported the idea and told her that he “wanted to do something special for Michael, too.”

“I’ve known him for a couple of years,” Kardonsky said of Pagano. “He would always wave to me and he was a nice guy.”

Instead of just telling Pagano that she was free after all, Kardonsky decided to formally ask Pagano to the prom — with the help of the New York Jets.

Kardonsky contacted Jets players through Instagram, then edited together a compilation video of nine team members — wideout Shaq Evans, wide receivers Chris Owusu and Saalim Hakim, cornerbacks Antonio Cromartie and Dexter McDougle, running back Bilal Powell, safety Jaiquawn Jarrett, defensive tackles Leger Douzable and T.J. Barnes — asking Pagano to go to the prom with Kardonsky.

She then got permission to include the “promposal” video in the school’s video announcements. After the video aired, a Jets-jersey-clad Kardonsky asked Pagano in person, in front of his cheering classmates.

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Pagano, a lifelong Jets fan, said yes.

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“I didn’t really have a lot of words to say,” Pagano told ABC News. “It’s amazing that someone can go out of their own way and make an impact on my life. It’s pretty special.”

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Pagano is now brainstorming ways to include his love for the Jets at his prom. The obvious choice: a tux in the team colours.

“I’m thinking about wearing a green and white tux,” Pagano told ABC News.

Kardonsky succeeded in making this year’s prom special for Pagano: she helped make him an online star.

The high schoolers’ story went viral, and Pagano’s social mediahas been blowing up.” The pair have been interviewed by multiple media outlets. And a local limousine company donated a free ride so Kardonsky and Pagano can arrive at the prom in style.

“He really deserves it,” Kardonsky told ABC7 of making the prom invite special. “He’s such a great kid. Everyone loves Mike.”

“I’m just really happy that he’s happy.”

When questioned about her motives for taking Pagano to prom — some stories insinuated that she was taking pity on a student with autism — Kardonsky set the record straight on Facebook:

“I can make my story clear for those who don’t understand it, or misinterpret the reasoning behind my ‘promposal.’ What I did was only with good intentions for MIKE and right from my heart. None of this has ANYTHING to do with me. Mike has high functioning autism, and that does not mean that what I did for him was because I in any way pitied him. Mike is a well-known student at Division Avenue High School, and loved by every single person who is lucky enough to get to know him. Not only did I NOT want Mike to go to prom alone, but I also WANTED to go with him,” she wrote.

“Mike and I were both nominated ‘most distinctive personality’ which makes it that much easier to be ourselves around each other and have a fun time. Mike also has one of the warmest hearts a human being could possibly bear, which draws people to him. I went great lengths for no other reason but to make Mike happy and provide him with a memory he will never forget. I would do this for anybody worthwhile if presented the opportunity. Nothing is more important to me than making someone else happy, and of course…making sure they PAY IT FORWARD!”