News

Seniors Get Creative for Prom

Seamus O’Neil ‘13 asked Claudia Giles ‘13 by releasing a puppy into Giles’ second period German class. “I was confused at first and didn’t know it was for me, but then the puppy miraculously came straight to me,” said Giles. Giles opened the envelope and found a note from O’Neil. O’Neil was also standing outside of the classroom.

“I was very happy with the way he asked me. It was perfect and I love puppies,” said Giles. Giles said that the puppy-themed invite stemmed from an inside joke between her and O’Neil. The dog involved belonged to Nina Scott, Instructor in English.

O’Neil was one of many in the class of 2013 who got creative to ask their dates to prom.

Prom will be held on the evening of Thursday, June 6, following the annual promenade through campus.

Greg Cameron ‘13 asked Nicole Ng ‘13, both Managing Editors of The Phillipian volume CXXXV, by tweeting from The Phillipian’s Twitter account. Cameron tweeted the prom proposal during Conference Period. “As soon as I pressed the button I walked around Commons and the library with a couple friends, searching for her. We finally saw each other at the front of the library and she said yes,” said Cameron.

Sahil Bhaiwala ’13 tried to ask Sierra Heneghan ’14 to prom by spelling out “PROM” on the front steps of Paresky Commons in the morning before first period. Unfortunately, students had dismantled the message over the course of first period before she got there.

“I got the message. I was confused about why Sam Goldberg [’14] came up to me during History class to say, ‘Did you see it?’ but when I got to [Paresky] Commons before second period I figured it out,” said Heneghan.

Bhaiwala, a member of the Varsity Boys Basketball team, said that Heneghan was one of the team’s managers this winter and that Sierra Mist soda was an inside joke amongst the team.

Although he was not there to see her reaction, Bhaiwala learned of her decision to accept after first period. “[Sierra] passed me on the walkway of Bulfinch, raised a can of Sierra Mist to me and said yes. It was a beautiful moment,” said Bhaiwala.

Some students took a performance-based approach to prom-asking. Unlike Bhaiwala, Unwana Abasi ’13 did get to see her prospective date’s reaction and acceptance when she asked Kene Adigwe ’14 through a SLAM routine. As SLAM Co-Captain, Abasi choreographed a routine for the Boy’s Varsity Basketball team to step to, as Adigwe is a member of the team. The boys performed the routine in Lower Right of Paresky Commons during dinner.

“It took about a week to teach them all but the team was really fun and enthusiastic, so it was worth every second. I was really nervous beforehand, but I’m extremely happy with how it turned out,” said Abasi.

Arianna Chang ’13 asked Adam Brody ’14 to prom through a DramaLab. Chang, a Producer in the 2012-2013 school year, organized a group of friends to produce and perform a mock DramaLab called a “Prom-a-Lab” for Brody, who will succeed Chang as a Producer.

“I knew I wanted the proposal to be within theatre and DramaLabs somehow because that’s such a big part of our lives, and just asking him in the DramaLab Programs or during warm-ups seemed too little. So, I thought, ‘Hey what if I asked him via an actual show?’” said Chang.

Chang said that the play included allusions to inside jokes or experiences that she and Brody shared. Every character in the Prom-a-Lab was a character Brody had played previously in a Drama Lab or Theatre 520 show. The title of the Prom-a-lab was “Atoning for the 25th Memoir of Success, Errors and Edges,” a mash-up of the play titles Brody has been in while at Andover.

Rolando Bonachea ’13 asked Rachel Wittenberg ’13 to prom with a live performance in front of the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library, complete with singing, dancing and back up dancers.

Bonachea serenaded Wittenburg with the song “Hey Juliet” by LMNT.

He said that he came up with the idea three weeks prior and the group spent time rehearsing the dancing and vocals leading up to the execution.

“There’s only one person in the world that I’m willing to embarrass myself that much for, so I’m glad that it turned out well,” said Bonachea.

Others went with the element of surprise. Malachi Price ’13 wrote “Prom?” with window markers on the car of Renée LaMarche ’14. After secretly taking her car keys, Price moved her car to the Paresky circle and asked LaMarche to meet him there. When she arrived, he was standing next to the car with flowers.

“It took a few days to plan, as I was unsure how I would get the car and have time to do markers and everything. It ended up really well though, and she was really surprised and pleased,” said Price.

Rejoicing after a victory against Exeter for the Girl’s Softball team, Sven Lerner ’13 asked Abby Chung ’13 to prom when the team was called into a huddle and Coach Drench directed their attention to the outfield, where Lerner and friends held up signs for Chung.

“Apparently I almost ruined it by having the team walk out towards where he and his friends were hiding to start cleaning up the field, when we were supposed to just wait in the dugout. But it was still really sweet and exciting,” said Chung.

Jack Katkavitch ’13 surprised Kristen Mendez ’13 with a prom-posal during Mendez’s sixth period math class. In the middle of the class, Katkavitch telephoned Bill Scott, Instructor in Mathematics, who is Mendez’s math teacher and asked to speak to Mendez.

Kakovitch texted her to tell her to look outside where he and some friends were holding a big flag that read, “Prom?”

“He had been telling me all term to expect something big, but I was still completely caught off-guard,” said Mendez. “Needless to say I had a hard time focusing on math for the rest of class.”

Some of the more detail-oriented askings involved multiple steps and many participants. Zach Merchant ’13 asked Stephanie Nekoroski ’14 through a scavenger hunt across campus, leading her to three of the meaningful places in their relationship. The hunt ended at the Phelps Stadium, where JJ Hayward ’13 had set up candles that read, “Steph, Prom?”

“Even though the candle situation was a little precarious with all the wind, she loved the candles and the whole thing. Seeing Steph so happy at the end of the night made it all worthwhile,” said Merchant.