NHS Annual Senior Citizen’s Prom a Success
March 21, 2017
Dancing, performances, and food were all provided during this year’s Senior Citizen’s Prom.
On March 9, 2017, Hershey High School’s National Honor Society (NHS) hosted its annual Senior Citizen’s Prom. About fifty students volunteered their evening to go to the Traditions of Hershey in Palmyra to not only socialize with the residents, but to dance and perform for them. This event started because of NHS’s focus on community service.
The prom started out with HHS students performing for the residents. HHS Seniors Kodiak Thompson and Julia Rippon performed several songs and even danced. Chocapella, an acapella group, sung as well as HHS Senior Sam Davey. It ended with senior Elizabeth Abraham and Junior Twisha Bhardwaj performing a piano and cello piece.
After the performances, the dining room was opened for dancing, and food was set out. Students had the opportunity to socialize and dance with the residents.
Jason Guo, NHS Vice President, was just one of the students who volunteered his time for the prom. “I enjoyed the dancing the most,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun to dance with the senior citizens because you can tell they’re very excited to spend time with others.”
Annita Alleman, a resident at the home, agreed with Guo. “I love the interactions between the young and the elderly,” Alleman said.
Besides the NHS students, Alleman said that preschoolers even came to the Traditions of Hershey to read with the residents and sing happy birthday to Dr. Seuss. She loves the opportunity to talk to the other students and the chance to dance.
“The Senior Citizen Prom is special because it allows students to interact with a different part of the community that often time we don’t see,” Guo explained.
Katie Stevens, a member of NHS, agrees because she believes it provides a learning opportunity for her generation. “We don’t value the experiences they lived through enough,” Stevens explained.
For example, she said, Stevens met a resident who lived when jeans were invented. “I can’t imagine a time without jeans,” Stevens said with a laugh.
But besides the learning opportunity, Stevens was also glad for the chance to make a new friend, Jackie Stone. The two spent the night talking, and Stevens plan to go back to visit her.
“I think everyone had a lot of fun,” Stevens said as she remembered all the laughs that both the students and the residents shared.
While for Stevens the prom provided an opportunity to make a new friend, for other students it was a unique opportunity to talk a group of people they don’t normally interact with. Overall, the night was a success not just for the students but more the residents as well.
