In an attempt to make his prom-posal as special as possible, HMHS senior Jake Portella reached out to Phillies MVP player – and Haddonfield resident – Bryce Harper for a little help.

I reached out to Jake in order to figure out what his initial thought process was and how he felt about becoming a social media phenomenon. Jake stated that his initial plan started simply with a bold attempt to go and ask Harper himself, stating “All I had to do was knock on his door and respectfully ask if he could help out with my prom-posal because Giulia [Leonetti] is a really big Phillies fan. He’s my friend’s neighbor and he told me he’s a nice guy so I figured it was worth trying.” Jake getting the response he had wanted, furthered his planning with the All-Star. Jake said “He initially asked for my email so he could send a video saying a message to her, but as I was leaving he suggested we do it right now.  Then he just followed me in his car and that was that.”

Before news of Harper’s assist took our town by storm, only a small group of people knew of Jake’s plan, and as the news quickly spread there were questions of whether or not it was real. The only thing that everyone knew for sure was Jake was now the talk of the town. The short conversation led to Jake and his prom-posal making it all over social media and the news. Prominent groups and broadcasters such as ESPN, MLB, Fox News and Barstool Sports have reposted this event, leading it to get over 200,000 likes and reposts. Although this social media story has taken over national headlines, this feel-good moment is another reminder that neighborly support and kindness is at the heart of our community.