Seniors celebrate at the first prom in two years
On April 2, seniors attended their Enchanted Garden-themed prom, celebrating the end of their high school experience in style with all of their friends and teachers.
The event was held at the Bayou Event Center and was a night the seniors will remember fondly as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.
“Prom was fun,” prom king Andrew Martinez said. “I had a good time hanging out with my friends.”
Due to the pandemic, prom was canceled for the previous two years, which made the evening even more special.
“Most of the kids that I saw had fun and we haven’t had a prom in two years so I feel like a lot of the students were excited to have it,” senior math teacher Jared Sarabia said.
For many students, it was a great opportunity to celebrate and socialize with their peers outside of a classroom environment.
“I had an amazing prom experience! It was cool seeing all my classmates dressed up and having a good time together,” prom queen Lauren Dillard said. “I was also able to mingle with a lot more people than at school.”
The students were not the only attendees who enjoyed seeing each other out of school.
“I think it was actually really cool because you build a relationship with the students throughout the year,” Sarabia said. “And then you get to their senior events and you kind of see like this is it and it’s cool for them to see me because I’m not only a math teacher.”
Students had different highlights of the evening but for the majority of them, the highlight was spending time with their friends.
“My favorite part of the evening was probably all the pictures being taken,” Martinez said. “I enjoyed taking pictures with all my friends.”
Martinez and Dillard were crowned prom king and queen at the event after their peers had been voting in the weeks prior.
“I was honestly shocked!” Dillard said. “All of the nominees were beautiful people and deserving of the crown. It felt like a childhood dream come true.”
In order to be considered for king, Martinez felt that he had to really put himself out there.
“I really just put myself out there more during that week and the two weeks of voting and tried to get as many people to vote as possible,” Martinez said.
Much like Martinez, Dillard put herself out there and the reward was very meaningful.
“It is very sentimental to me because this is something that every little girl dreams of and now it’s a reality,” Dillard said.
For both Martinez and Dillard, winning homecoming king and queen is something that they will never forget.
“I will always remember my slow dance after being crowned with Drew (Martinez),” Dillard said.
Now that prom is over and senior year is reaching its end, students are reflecting on their journey to this point.
“It’s kind of bittersweet because I will miss everyone here,” Dillard said. “But I’m also ready to begin the next chapter of my life.”
