Gabriel Oliveira
Observing the evening festivities, English teacher Samantha Lozano and Student Council officers Iris Chen ‘26, Rheya Kurian ‘26, and Aiden Wen ‘26 sit behind a prom court voting booth. The booth was open right until the prom king and queen were announced, allowing students to cast their votes throughout the night.
Dazzling under colorful lights, students celebrated yet another year at Prom from 8 p.m. to midnight, on Saturday, April 13 at the Oasis.
“Prom was important to me because it’s a signification of getting older,” Ian Shone ‘25 said. “It reminded me that I wasn’t a freshman anymore, and that soon I’m going into senior year.”
Planned and hosted by Student Council’s sophomore and junior classes, the intricate process of planning Prom started as early as this January.
“We had to work with…a lot of different elements and people,” junior class Vice President Shrishti Mahajan ‘25 said. “But overall it turned out well.”
StuCo volunteers arrived as early as 6:30 p.m. at the Oasis to set up the signs, decorations and equipment for the night to ensure that the event would run smoothly for the night.
“I love seeing all the people [and] everyone having a good time,” sophomore class Treasurer Aiden Wen ‘26 said. “That’s what [Prom’s] all about, so I love seeing that.”
Throughout Prom, the sophomore StuCo officers counted the votes for royalty as they trickled in. Later that night, Dillon Shadowen ‘24 and Natalie Rychlikova ‘24 were crowned as Prom King and Queen.
“I think the best part [of Prom] is getting to talk with other people like my friends and getting to see them all dressed up,” Shadowen said.
As the crowning began, all of the candidates lined up on the stage while the crowd gathered below, cheering and clapping.
“I feel really, really grateful [for] all my friends,” Rychlikova said. “I [could] see them all dressed up, and it was really surreal being up there.”