Barnstable High School crowned graduating senior Nicholas Bulman its prom king at its Class of 2019 fête last Friday night. Bulman’s friend and field hockey teammate Abby Al-Asousi accompanied him to the prom, held at the Resort and Conference Center in Hyannis. Bulman’s class rallied round the 19-year-old when he came out on Instagram last summer, according to the Cape Cod Times, which reported this weekend:
“It was a really fun night,” Bulman said Saturday. “Everyone looked dapper and beautiful.”
Students attending the “Great Gatsby”-themed prom Friday chose Bulman from a roster of five young men nominated as king of the prom court.
Barnstable High teachers determined the list of candidates for prom king, as well as the five for prom queen.
Kalyani Clarke, a friend of Bulman’s, was chosen prom queen, he said. …
Adding Bulman to the roster for prom king was a no-brainer, according to teacher and class adviser Lyn Vazquez said.
“He’s just an all-around great person,” Vazquez said, adding that Bulman is friendly and involved with the community and extracurricular activities.
“Teachers at Barnstable High School felt Nick was a great candidate,” Vazquez said.
“A classmate came up and said, ‘You’re on the ballot. I didn’t know what that meant,” Bulman told the Times, which went on to report in an earlier article about the nomination:
High school can be a difficult enough time without confronting issues of gender identity.
Bulman said he struggled with his female identify for years and had an “aha!” moment in eighth grade when he learned the term transgender.
“It helped me a lot knowing there were other people who understood what I was going through,” said Bulman, who has had his name legally changed to Nicholas.
Last summer he started testosterone treatment at Boston Children’s Hospital’s Gender Management Service, and in March he underwent surgery to assist in the transition to his new identity.
“When I was getting fitted (for a tux), everything fit better,” said Bulman, who has recently grown a beard.
In his Instagram post last summer, Bulman described his years of research on what it means to be transgender and the experts with whom he consulted before making his decision to transition, including endocrinologists, psychologists, therapists, a support group and a primary care physician.
“I am now putting myself on the road toward being comfortable in my own skin,” Bulman wrote.
Classmates were supportive, Vazquez said. “Nick is Nick.”
Bulman’s field hockey teammates even had him speak at a pride game against Nauset Regional High School, where Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” played during warmup.
“That was really cool,” said Bulman, who counts a public speaking class among his favorites at Barnstable High.
This fall he plans to go to Bridgewater State University and study psychology.
