By: Devynn Brown, Aidan Hatch, Mariah Gomez, and Emma Sanchez-Flores
Many students have been creating their own proms in the past few weeks. Some are in backyards while others are in party buses. Take a look and see what your fellow Rangers say about them.
Alia Backlund’22 went to a prom because she didn’t want to “miss out on any of the fun events that come with high school.” She went in a small group of 3 of friends and the prom was organized by some Hanford parents (from Sierra Pacific High School). They paid a ticket fee which was about the normal price of a prom ticket that covered dinner and the cost of renting the location.
She says, “the experience was a fun one, as it was well organized and everyone dressed up.” It was at a barn and everyone sat at tables and then they served food that was pretty good. Then they had prom king and queen nominations and announced the winners and then had them dance. Then they opened the dance floor and most kids went and danced right away.
She goes on to say “they had pretty good music, the typical music that they play at dances. They only played like one slow song.” She says “it was better than school dances in some ways because the venue was nicer and they had food.” She says “I think the best part was when me and my friends were dancing towards the end of the dance.”
Shebly Wisehart’22 said “Prom more than exceeded my expectations, it was super fun to be able to get back with a lot of friends all in one place!” She took pictures by the Wildflower Cafe in downtown Exeter.
The party bus she went in went to Dog House Grill in Fresno. The whole ride was filled with music and dancing. She said the “bus can pick us up from our picture location and take us anywhere we want for dinner too. It gives us a sort of “VIP” experience that is super fun!” Her favorite part of prom was being able to have “one last dance with my senior friends.”
Katie Hornburg’22 planned a prom and said “it was stressful to plan and set up.” She created a beautiful prom in her backyard and had her group of friends invited. She played “a whole bunch of oldies on it and liked it better than music at school dances; that sometimes you can’t really dance to.” Her favorite part was when “we all just started to dance to this one song and everyone knew it and sang it!”
Mckenna Cook’22 attended a prom and said “Doing our own prom instead of the school dance was pretty much the same because we did all the same stuff as usual, but I still wish that our school organized something.” She went out and bought a new dress for the occasion and took pictures in downtown Exeter with her friends. After they went to dinner and on a party bus.
Seneca Sowers ‘22 feels that it’s a good thing for students to be planning their own proms. Sowers states, “us students haven’t gotten to have a normal year … ,[and] as long as everyone is being safe about everything and taking precautions, it’s definitely something good for us …”.
Sowers did buy a dress, however, she purchased that dress last year, and never got the opportunity to wear it until now.
“My expectations for prom is to honestly just have fun, dance, and have a good time with my friends”, says Sowers. She’s excited to finally get the opportunity to dress up and have a night full of fun.
Following Sowers’s prom night on Saturday, May 15th, she says that prom “definitely met [her] expectations. It was super fun to be able to spend time with my friends…”. Sowers had an overall fun night with her getting out and dressing up.
Prom this year has surely been different, but these students made it the best it could be!
Devynn Brown
Devynn Brown'22 is a second year Gigantea member. She enjoys writing stories on trendy to serious topics. Uncovering stories and spreading the new found knowledge to the world is her passion.
Great coverage! I attended Katie’s prom, and it was a blast. I’m glad you guys took the time to record all these different proms that still occurred despite the pandemic.