The prom dance is a cornerstone for a student’s experience during high school. Unfortunately, prom dances typically do not always accommodate special needs students, meaning that they do not get to experience prom like the other students.
“Regular prom is kind of just high school students thinking about themselves and how they are going to look nice,” Emily Alba, Public Service junior, said. “Night to Shine is an opportunity to put your needs aside and help others in the community.”
Night to Shine is a prom dance for special needs individuals, either in or out of high school. It emulates an experience similar to the high school’s original prom while tailoring additional accommodations for the people involved to enjoy the experience.
“I think it is a really cool opportunity for them as people who never get that chance, especially if they do not go to the high school,” Lakyn Warren, Health junior, said.
Volunteers from various churches help out with organizing and maintaining Night to Shine at the First Southern Baptist Church. Plenty of the high school volunteers also came from advertisements from the National Honors Society.
“I mentioned it to all of my classes that I was teaching,” Wendi Terpstra, English teacher, said. “I really tried to send out a special message to the National Honor Society students and give them that opportunity to serve their community.”
Many of the volunteers organized different activities and resources for the events. There is a ballroom for dancing, a room for pictures and a sensory room for those who feel overstimulated.
“I think that it is very sweet and thoughtful as some of those kids will never get to experience things like that,” Alba said. “It just helps them experience it in a way that is safe and fun to them and accommodate their needs.”
There is also a buddy system during the dance, where each individual is paired up with a volunteer buddy to follow them around and do the activities the person wants to during the dance.
“They paired me up with someone attending, and then I stayed with her,” Warren said. “We danced a little and we got food. She had to go to the sensory room a lot, so we colored in there to calm her down.”
Night to Shine creates an alternative for individuals that allows them to experience life within prom dances, giving them a chance to shine and have fun in a way that fully supports them.
“I think it is a great opportunity,” Terpstra said. “I do not know if they attended prom or not, but this gives them that opportunity to just feel special.”
