UNION COUNTY, N.C. — High schoolers in Union County are getting ready for prom this weekend.

What You Need To Know

  • Proms set to return to Union County Public Schools without masks

  • Last year's proms were all canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic

  • Proms start at each high school at 8 p.m. Saturday

  • Students will be able to enjoy a sense of normal for the first time in 15 months

 

Seniors across the district and some juniors, depending on the school, will be able to attend prom this year without masks.

Last year, all Union County Public Schools proms were canceled, according to UCPS staff.

This year, all the proms will be held on Saturday, starting at 8 p.m. district-wide, according to a UCPS spokeswoman.

For students at Marvin Ridge High School, it is a welcome return to normal in what’s been an unprecedented 15 months.

"I’m so excited to see how it all turns out and to be able to have a normal event ya know?” MRHS junior Kate Demore said.

Demore, who is back in school five days a week, said she’s looking forward to seeing friends and classmates she has not had a chance to connect with this year.

"I’m just so excited to be able to be in a big group of people again, especially when it’s like my fellow peers. Football games it was limited capacity, and so was pep rallies and things like that. And Marvin’s always been good at like having a lot of school spirit, so I’m really excited to see how that goes,” Demore said at school after classes this week.

She and her friends are excited about prom, even if it will be different than usual.

This year, the county high schools are hosting proms at the same time, in similar places, and for similar costs. Marvin Ridge High School’s will be on the football field.

Normally, Demore and her junior classmates on student government would have had more of a say in the planning.

“If COVID didn’t exist the junior class usually is one of the ones who takes over,” Demore added.

Because of the change in plans so late in the year, the juniors do not mind helping in any way they can. This year, they were spending time during open periods and after school to help decorate the field with string lights, balloons and photographs. 

Andrew Walford is junior class president and soon to be student body president for his senior year next year.

He said as recently as February, they did not know if they would have a prom to end their year.

"I’m so glad that everything came to life, and I mean normally we do it at a Ritz Carlton venue or something. But, you know, the football field is somewhere that...is a place that a lot of people have a lot of cool memories from their high school experience,” Walford said while showing the decorations they had planned.

Particularly, Walford and Demore were proud of an idea they had to create a memory lane down the entrance of the football field. They’ve printed hundreds of photos from the juniors' and seniors' time at MRHS to hang along lighted drapes as students enter the area.

For Walford, this year’s prom is a great opportunity to see friends he’s missed due to COVID-19 protocols.

"Prom is one of those main things that is such a great memory for a lot of people, especially knowing that the seniors weren’t able to have that last year with COVID and the circumstance. I’m really glad that they’re able to at least have something,” he said while taking a break from decorating.

Walford was a fully virtual student this year, creating distance from himself and fellow classmates. He’s also dual enrolled to get college credit as he finishes high school with a goal to be a dentist one day. He said as a "social" person, it was a tough year of schooling.

Ironically, the theme for this year's prom was "Mask"-uerade to tie in the need for face masks. But, the students recently were told they would not have to wear face masks while at the prom, according to Walford.

For Union County seniors, this will be their first and last prom after last year’s hiatus.

For Alex Kappos, planning to attend California Polytechnic and study public health, prom will be one of the few last opportunities to connect with the senior class.

"We haven’t been in school a lot this year. So, it’s kind of nice almost for it to be in the stadium. Feels kind of homey, like we’re kind of connected back to our school. I’m just excited to be able to see everyone for the first time in a while,” Kappos said after classes this week.

Kappos, outgoing student body president, has been a UCPS student since kindergarten and is looking forward to what’s next after high school.

His classmate and fellow senior, Aidan Sunris, are looking forward to the last few weeks of senior year.

"This is like our first class interaction together, because normally we have like pep rallies and stuff, but this is our first time that most of the student body will be together in one spot seeing each other. So, I think it’s going to be really exciting for everyone to get that interaction again,” Sunris said, looking forward to prom Saturday night.

Sunris will be headed to N.C. State after graduation to study chemical engineering. 

“My sister actually has a genetic disability, and we’ve gone to the NIH a couple times, so just seeing what they do has kind of like inspired me,” Sunris added.

He plans on helping people like his sister.

But on Saturday night, he and his classmates will have one of their final opportunities to just enjoy being high schoolers and experiencing a sense of normal after COVID-19 has made the last 15 months anything but normal.