U.P. high school holds special prom for peers with disabilities

WEST ISHPEMING — It’s quickly become a tradition at Westwood High School, something that students look forward to putting on for their fellow classmates.

The second annual Peer to Prom event was held in the high school’s new multi–media room, giving some students their own personalized prom.

Through the school’s Peer to Peer Program, the students put on prom for their classmates that have severe disabilities. Nature was the theme of this year’s event.

Students took pictures with each other, enjoyed some snacks, had some great conversation and of course, danced the day away just like at any prom.

“Putting on the prom for them has been such an amazing experience because you get to see how excited they get, and how pumped they get, just like how you get for your prom,” Oates said. “And it’s their prom, and they’re just so happy for it. It just makes me so glad.”

“I was so excited last year when they came to me, so proud, really proud of them again this year. They put a lot of work into it,” Moebius said. “It’s been a couple months of planning so they’ve really put their time into it.”

The students that put together this year’s Peer to Prom also work in the classroom with those same students on a regular basis.