Former High School Dropout Becomes Prom Queen in Her 70s

Elise Solé

A high school dropout was crowned prom queen — in her 70s.

Linda Abril, now in her 70s, was crowned prom queen. (Photo: Courtesy of KPNX 12 News)
Linda Abril, now in her 70s, was crowned prom queen. (Photo: Courtesy of KPNX 12 News)

Linda Abril, who dropped out of school only three weeks into her sophomore year, was named prom queen on Saturday at the Linda Abril Educational Academy, the school she founded in Phoenix, according to a story published Monday by KPNX 12 News.

Yahoo Beauty was unable to reach Abril for comment; however, she told KPNX 12 News about her decision to leave school: “I’ve always regretted it. I paid dearly for it, and one day I wanted the chance to make up to all the teachers who believed in me.”

After earning her GED, Abril started the school in 2001 as an alternative program for junior and senior students who were struggling and who would benefit from smaller classes with individualized attention.

“Linda is a champion for students,” Craig Pletenik, communications director for the Phoenix Union High School District, tells Yahoo Style. “She even became an honorary graduate of the school last year and received a diploma wearing a cap and gown. She broke down in tears and said it was the greatest surprise of her life.”

Abril at prom. (Photo: Courtesy of KPNX 12 News)
Abril at prom. (Photo: Courtesy of KPNX 12 News)

Abril has served on the Phoenix Union High School District Board for decades, and during a recent meeting where members were planning the school’s first official prom, Abril remarked that she had never experienced the high school rite of passage.

From that point on, board members secretly planned to crown Abril prom queen.

“One board member helped Abril pick out her gown and another named Randy Schiller was her date,” says Pletenik. According to KPNX 12 News, Schiller picked up Abril to take her to prom and said, “She started giggling as we pulled up to the school like, ‘I can’t believe we’re going to do this.’”

Abril was surprised and delighted to be named prom queen, and she was presented with a sash and tiara. “My heart is bursting,” she told KPNX 12 News. “This school was the place that I wanted to be … where hope lives.”

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