Senior Prom 2.0

Senior Prom 2.0

When students at one Florida high school were making plans for their own annual prom, they decided to also throw a party for residents of a local nursing home. Students at the Terra Environmental Research Institute (TERRA), a public, magnet high school in Miami-Dade County, Florida, provided men and women ranging in age from 80 to 101 with their very own “senior” prom.

The director of the Palace Nursing & Rehab Center in Miami said:

Teenagers don’t see wrinkles. They don’t see frailty. They see someone new — someone they want to learn from. The elderly have so much knowledge to give to the students, and vice versa, the elderly need the young to bring the spirit.

She added, “The kids did a great job.”

Students celebrated the event with 75 senior citizens and some of their family members. The party included a prom court, refreshments, music, and dancing, sometimes improvised a bit since some residents are in wheelchairs. A student wearing the school mascot wolf costume was on hand for the festivities.

TERRA’s 17-year-old student-government president said before the event that she hoped students would interact with residents and make them “feel special.” She said that the reason for the event was “just to show them that their community loves and cares about them.”

The high school principal said the students are “very, very kind.” She expressed her belief that it’s great when younger people show respect and care for their elders.

TERRA High School is open to Miami-Dade area applicants who want to specialize in Environmental Research, Biomedical Research, and/or Robotics and engineering. (ABCNews, 4-22-16)