Planning for this year’s senior and junior proms is well under way!
The Boston Latin School senior prom will be at the New England Aquarium on June 6, and junior prom will be at the Marriott Long Wharf on June 14.
Senior prom is organized by the senior class officers and advisors. The senior class officers for the Class of 2024 are president Okeoghene Ogege-Abedi (I), vice president Rachel Lantsman (I), treasurer Jed Muzac (I) and secretary Minh Nguyen (I). The senior class advisors are BLS guidance counselor Ms. Andrea Encarnacao and BLS math teacher Ms. Alyssa Sarkis, who have organized proms as senior class advisors for six years.
The junior and senior classes, as well as the senior officers and advisors, have worked together since the beginning of the school year to organize prom, managing logistics and weighing feedback from the student body to create a memorable experience.
A significant part of organizing prom is fundraising, as renting out a venue alone can cost tens of thousands of dollars. As a result, prom ticket prices are often quite expensive, at around 100 dollars each. The senior class officers and advisors work hard to lower the price of prom tickets as much as possible, understanding that the historically high prices are not affordable for everyone.
Throughout the year, there have been several fundraisers to raise money for prom, including the Faculty Talent Show, the Do Good With Chipotle fundraiser, a DoorDash raffle, the Virtual Popcorn Fundraiser and various bake sales. Many of the successful fundraisers this year were new ideas, and the senior officers and advisors express their gratitude for the immense support from the BLS community this year.
In addition to fundraising for senior prom, this is the first year that there is a major fundraising effort for the junior prom. Zinnia Davis (II), who is involved in planning for junior prom, comments that, “The school doesn’t provide us with any funds or budget, and so that’s why we must resort to fundraising, ticket prices and estimated guest turnout.”
As with the senior prom, the fundraising money primarily goes towards the price of the venue, as well as the typical costs associated with prom, including DJ, food and decorations. The junior prom mostly depends on the financial support of the school as well as volunteering from families and friends.
Discussing the high costs of prom tickets, Ms. Sarkis notes, “Prom is an expensive event. It’s always been an expensive event. I think that just the nature of doing an event of this size for 400 plus students at a prime location, whether it be a hotel or the aquarium this year, will always have a significant cost.”
Another crucial aspect of organizing prom is choosing a venue, which is influenced by senior class officers’ opinions as well as the rest of the senior class. Instead of the Copley Marriott or the Marriott Long Wharf as in past years, senior prom’s location this year is at the New England Aquarium.
The senior class officers and class advisors decided to host prom at the aquarium not only because it had a similar price as previous venues, but also because they felt that it was a beautiful and unique location. Muzac remarks, “People can still take their pictures without any problem as well, and the waterside scenery is just gorgeous.”
Despite the challenges of organizing prom, the students and faculty members involved have still found it very enjoyable to bond with each other during the planning process. They hope that both the junior and senior proms this year will be memorable experiences for everyone attending.
Muzac concludes, “At the end of the day, this and Prize Night and graduation are our last time as a class together, possibly forever, so it’d be special to see everyone there and just having a great time.”
