PLANTATION, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida teenager didn’t let a disability hinder his chances of becoming his high school’s homecoming king.
That teenager, Robert Woodruff, was crowned homecoming king at South Plantation High School, Thursday.
Although he’d dealt with a disability his entire life, his classmates only see his great abilities.
Known in his school’s hallways as Dr. Bob, he just may be the most popular guy in school. “The gym was kinda cheering. It was kinda subdued for all the other candidates, but when I took the floor, it was like an earthquake happened,” he said.
He’s no ordinary senior. He was blind at birth and was also diagnosed with autism.
But Robert decided never to allow what people consider disabilities to hold him back.
His father, James Woodruff, expressed how proud he is of his son. “I couldn’t be any more proud of him,” he said. “It was a battle when he first started out going to school and getting him into his home school and mainstreaming him.”
It was when Woodruff first transitioned to high school was when he got his iconic nickname. “I said, ‘Hi.’ My teacher said, ‘Hi.’ ‘My name is Bob.’ And he said, ‘Why don’t we call you Dr. Bob?’ And it just stuck,” he said.
Dr. Bob is at the top of his class with a 3.9 GPA and has dreams of pursuing broadcasting at Florida Gulf Coast University. He’s also made a name for himself at South Plantation as a man of many talents. “I’m the voice of the Paladin Playhouse, so my role is, ‘Good evening, welcome to the Paladin Playhouse.'”
Whether it be students or teachers, Dr. Bob is someone everyone wants to be around. “He sees things that no one else sees,” said Robert Rose, Dr. Bob’s history teacher. “We tease a lot, we kid a lot, but the man sees things through people’s hearts.”
It’s these qualities that made him an ideal choice for homecoming king. “I just make everybody in the room smile,” Dr. Bob said. “Bring a little bit of happiness all around. You know, just because I’m blind, that doesn’t stop me from doing what I do best, and that’s being who I am.”
The teen said that becoming homecoming king has been an honor, but he still has a whole lot more he wants to accomplish in his last few months at school.
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