The number of weekly, monthly, and annual social activities that have remained untouched by the COVID-19 pandemic can be counted on one hand.

Following the complete cancellation of the vast majority of milestone senior activities last year, the class of 2021 fortified a return to normalcy with their adaptive solutions. Versions of prom, graduation, and National Honors Society Induction WILL take place this spring.

The prom this year will take the form of a Senior Extravaganza celebration for 12th-Graders. The event will take place May 15 in Coach McNelly Stadium from 6-10 p.m., with a rain date of May 16. Seniors will attend and are allowed to bring one guest.

“We’re not calling it a prom,” clarified Senior Class Advisor Aimee Oblak. “We’re not trying to make the look of something that isn’t. We just want to celebrate.”
The Class of 2020, unfortunately, did not have the same opportunity during a once-in-a-generation pandemic. Roughly 3.7 million seniors forwent multiple indispensable school events of their senior year in an enormous sacrifice last spring, favoring the physical health of a battered nation.

“We missed it,” reminisced Anna Huxta, a Penn State freshman and unfortunate member of the graduated Class of 2020, of the missed events during her senior year. “It was twelve years in the making and we missed it.”

The Class of 2021 is making similar sacrifices, though this time boosted with hope and threads of normalcy. Attempts to salvage the dozens of other rewarding events that compose a senior year will not be traditional, and will not be optimal, but will not be in vain.

Student Government officers Andrew Ram, Jamie Smith, Lauren Black, and Santiago Sosa worked tirelessly to gather some sense of celebratory triumph from a mangled academic year.

The primary focus of this committee of student leaders was channeling their efforts into the creation of an event that resembles prom.

This year’s extravaganza will take place outdoors in the football stadium to accommodate the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. To optimize these unique circumstances, the field will be lined with food trucks and high-topped tables for students to enjoy the spring night. There will be no charge, save the cost of food purchased, and attendees are welcome to dress in any attire (rather than the usual formal dress code).

Kan Jam, spike ball, the SNAP raffle, a senior band, photoshoot opportunities, a hypnotist, and Spring-Ford’s own Kaitlyn Myers will provide the evening’s entertainment, encouraging an embrace of unorthodox circumstance and forged opportunity.

“We´re incredibly proud of the resiliency of the class,” said Smith, 2021 Vice President. “We’ve worked hard to make this happen. They deserve it.”
The hope is that the prom of 2022 will be uninterrupted.

“We’re holding out for a bit of normalcy,” said Oblak. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed.”

Until then, this year’s seniors will assemble in unconventional celebration. What else could we expect?

“Conventional” hasn’t made an appearance yet this year.

We just have to make do without it.