By Beniamino Nardin, Harwood correspondent
On Saturday, May 14, Harwood Union High School held its annual prom honoring graduating seniors, Class of 2022, hosted by the Class of 2023, the juniors. The event was held in the Governor’s Ballroom at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier.
Before prom kicked off at 7:30, parents and students volunteered to help decorate the venue with string lights, decorative masks and a photobooth. The theme for this year’s prom was “Enchanted Forest,” and students trickled in wearing tuxedos with crimson ties, periwinkle dresses, emerald slips, or, completely off-theme, hot-pink pencil skirts.
Rachael Potts, the junior lead TA, headed the ticketing table. Potts organized the event along with the junior TAs and the junior class council. It is traditional at Harwood for the junior class to organize the seniors’ prom. “There is no way I could have done this on my own,” said Potts. “It was an all-hands-on-deck operation.”
Beside. Potts sat Kate Stauss, a Harwood English teacher and head teacher of the Harwood National Honor Society chapter. They laid out some ground rules for the prom, as well as introducing the prom’s “Court of Awesomeness.” Doing away with the gendered roles of “prom king” and “prom queen,” instead students could vote for titles like “best dressed,” “life of the party,” and “dynamic duo.”
Along with Potts and Stauss, the principals, Megan McDonough and Laurie Greenberg, were mingling among the students, keeping everything running smoothly and making everyone feel welcome. Faculty and other administrators chaperoned the event.
The dance floor was occupied by grinning faces, as masks were optional. Classics like Earth Wind and Fire’s “September” played, as well as modern favorites like Flo Rida’s “Low” and Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud,” which served as one of the night’s first slow dances.
Though the sky was ominous and breaths of fresh air revealed a downpour, the prom continued with wide smiles all around, a memory worth saving.
