Prom 2024 will be a night to remember for SLHS students

After the Southern Lehigh Class of 2025’s extensive fundraising efforts and preparation for Prom 2024, the event is finally approaching. It will be held on Friday, April 26th, at the Musikfest Cafe from 6:00-9:30 p.m. Prom planning was the responsibility of the junior class, led by class advisor Mrs. Courtney Bathgate and class officers.

To make Prom as successful as possible, the junior class has worked to raise money for the event since their freshman year. With the funds raised, those planning the Prom were able to find a nice venue, where food and drinks will be served to all those attending.

“We really stepped up last year with the chocolate bar sales and donations from Nothing Bundt Cakes to raise the most money out of all the grades,” junior class secretary Hannah Lee said. “We were able to raise enough that we did the chocolate bar sales one more time this year to reach the money we needed for prom.”

Although the junior class will run the Prom the way it has been in the past, with singing, dancing, a DJ, and more, the food will be served differently. By not having a sit-down meal this year, the officers hope that students will make the most of dancing while still being able to grab food at their convenience.

“Instead of the traditional sit-down and eat then dance setting, we thought it would be best for the dancing to start immediately,” junior class president Gijs Fooji said. “There will be food and drinks there, of course, but more of a finger food, grab-and-go type of thing.”

Aside from the food being provided differently, the location of the Prom will also differ from that of the past years, which was chosen to fit the needs of those attending the event. The class officers chose SteelStacks because it offers a large space with great views and does not have a cap on the number of people in the building. Along with that, the location also allows the students to have a short drive from the school and its surrounding areas.

“The venue for Prom was decided based on the numbers we needed to be able to hold,” Lee said. “We had to find a venue that could hold the number of juniors and seniors, and from that, we chose Steelstacks.”

Despite booking the event in September 2022, the SteelStacks venue filled up quickly for Spring 2024, leading to Prom being pushed up to April rather than May. However, this will not lead to many differences, as it will only be a few weeks before other classes held the Prom in the past.

“It’s a very popular event center for Lehigh Valley schools to host their Prom,” Mrs. Bathgate said. “[We are] hoping everyone enjoys the effort that was put in from the officers to make it fun and memorable.”

Of course, planning the event in its entirety did not come without a few bumps in the road. One of the main obstacles was finding a way to make the ticket prices reasonable, while holding the Prom at an expensive venue. However, with the help of Mrs. Bathgate, they persisted and planned what they hope will be an extremely successful night.

“Due to the communication and experience of Mrs. Bathgate, there was no challenging part of the process.” Fooji said.

Prom promises a fun-filled night for all attendees, but it will be especially rewarding for those who worked hard planning the event for three years. All those who wish to attend can purchase a ticket, which is now available in Mrs. Bathgate’s classroom.

“I look forward most to seeing the officer’s enjoying all the hard work they put into the day after three years of planning,” Bathgate said.

About the Contributor

Isabelle Johnson, Social Media and Web Editor

Throughout her time at Southern Lehigh, Isabelle Johnson has been a dedicated student-athlete and active member of her community. After spending three years with The Spotlight and becoming the social media and web editor, Izzy will graduate in May. She is excited to enter the next chapter of her life and plans to attend Lafayette College. There, she will major in neuroscience and swim for their Division I program. At Southern Lehigh High School, Izzy has most been involved with the high school swim team. She was a varsity swimmer for four years and qualified for the PIAA State Championships during her junior and senior seasons. “I think I'm just really proud of the team in general and being able to form so many bonds with everyone,” Johnson said. “I'm really proud of all of the progress we made as a team because I feel we have always worked really hard together, and we've made so many strides.” As a swimmer, Izzy mainly competes in sprint events and specializes in freestyle and butterfly. One of her biggest accomplishments on the swim team was breaking the individual school record in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 58.80 seconds. Beyond her own success, Izzy also contributed to the team through her leadership as one of the captains. Although Izzy was nervous to initially step into the role of captain, she is thankful for the lessons it has taught her about collaboration and mentorship. “I really enjoyed getting to help new swimmers. There were people who were finding their way and swimming, and I liked to be there as a voice for them or just to give them someone to talk to,” Johnson said. “Being captain also taught me a lot about being actively involved in sports instead of just being on the team.” In addition to her involvement with sports, Izzy is a member of Teen Counselors, National Honor Society, Future Business Leaders of America, and Student Council. Activities such as Teen Counselors have played a vital role in helping Izzy decide what career path she wants to pursue. As a naturally friendly person, she loves getting the opportunity to work with kids as an SLHS Teen Counselor and wants to continue that by becoming a pediatric speech pathologist. “I want to pursue that because I think it would be a fun way to work with kids,” Johnson said. “It also seems really interesting to learn more about the brain and how speech works.” Izzy is most excited about the opportunity to dive more into neuroscience when she arrives at Lafayette University. Although she was able to take interesting science classes in high school, she is looking forward to more specific coursework to her career aspirations. Even more impressive than her ample extracurriculars is the positivity Izzy brings to the people surrounding her. It is evident to anyone that meets her, but no one knows this better than her close friends. “She is the one person I can call at any time if I need something and she would be there in a second,” senior Grace Robinson said. “Her positive energy could brighten anyone’s day.” In addition to her warm nature, Izzy’s perseverance is a testament to her strength. Whether bouncing back from a broken foot during the height of swim season, or managing a difficult course load, Izzy always finds a way to pull through. “One thing that I admire about Izzy is her perseverance. No matter what obstacles arose, Izzy’s grit has propelled her through them,” senior Brianna Wasem said. “She has overcome many challenges that most people wouldn’t overcome.” Izzy’s friends are also in awe of how dedicated she is to her many different activities. “Izzy is the kindest, most understanding person who is always there to support her friends,” senior Elizabeth Vezenov said. “She is optimistic, dedicated, and hard working in everything she does, all while managing Type I diabetes.” Izzy’s friends agree that her fun-loving personality is another huge part of the person she is. “My favorite memory with her is our beach trip last summer and just spending time watching TikToks and laughing,” senior Genevieve Fry said. What Izzy will miss most about high school are the friendships she has made over the past four years. Although heading off to college is a bittersweet experience for her, she chooses to look at the bright side. Her senior quote perfectly sums up her outlook on graduating high school. “I chose ‘the best is yet to come’ by Frank Sinatra for my senior quote. I really like that quote. I feel like it is fitting because I'm sad about graduating, but I also just remind myself there's so many more chapters after this,” Johnson said. “ I'll just have to keep moving on and know there'll be more experiences and more room to grow, so I feel like that's like a good code to live by.”