Waldron Center prom includes red carpet, limo rides and masquerade ball
Prom day finally came for Waldron Center students ages 16 and older. It was Friday and they had been preparing for weeks. Some could talk of nothing else.
Dressed in their finest, students walked the red carpet. Parent-paparazzi snapped photos before they climbed into a stretch limo, courtesy of Rich Mitchell, owner of Black Diamond Limousine of Coldwater.
Inside the gym, Tom Wright, Waldron custodian, turned DJ, played everyone’s favorites and joined them on the dance floor.
Education students from Branch Area Careers Center, under the direction of Kayla Monville, had been in on it all.
They helped students create masquerade masks and made their own. They decorated the gym, helped the girls who wanted makeup and hair done, then put on their own prom dresses and suits and joined the party.
Hillary Raymond, Waldron Center teacher, blinked back tears. This prom had the most “positive vibe” of any of their activities, she said.
In 2020, just before the pandemic shutdown, students had “Night to Shine,” also a prom. It was a good way to open back up after two years, Raymond said.
And while Waldron students were enjoying center stage, BACC students were shinning the spotlight on them.
As he helped students in and out of the limo, Nolan Ray of BACC, told Raymond, “It makes me so happy that we’re doing this.”
Brooke Stevens agreed. “It’s a really good experience for others who don’t often get this kind of experience.”
Afrah Alomari said they also helped with a Halloween party and the talent talent show.
“It’s so amazing,” she said. “All of them were good.”
Some of the students showed their talent on the dance floor encircled by an appreciative audience. The acceptance made them even braver.
Susie Erwin, a BACC health science student, was also at the prom as it was during her OJT assignment at Waldron.
Which was more fun? Her own prom or this one?
Erwin said, “This one.”
This article originally appeared on The Daily Reporter: Waldron Center prom: the red carpet, limo rides and masquerade ball
