This week we held our Seniors Prom at the Gary and Mary West Center. My cohort (friends at this point) and I had been discussing the event for the last several weeks and it finally happened! Although the quarter is not over yet, it feels like a true culmination of what we have been researching and learning as Life Course Scholars. The event itself was an unequivocal success. The beautiful creeping green ivy, white paper lanterns, mason jars filled with yellow fairy lights, and gauzy baby blue curtains transformed the dining hall into a dance hall! I was part of the food group myself, so most of my work had been done the day before. My fellow Scholars pitched in to create a veritable feast of vanilla funfetti cupcakes, miniaturized blueberry cheesecake cups (which were a huge hit with the elders), fresh fruit bowls, assorted cookies, and wrapped up to-go sandwiches. I won’t say that it had not been a couple of stress filled days prior to the event, but the fact that we pulled it off was a testament to the joy we saw. There were a few ladies that excitedly waved me down and asked me for my blueberry cheesecake recipe! I was really touched to see them slowly taking pictures of the napkin on which I wrote down the recipe. Apart from the food, the UCSD Salsa Club came to teach some volunteers how to dance! Judging by the laughter and applause, everyone loved watching each other dance.
Despite all of the work that went into making the event happen, it was completely worth it- an older man stopped to tell me that his day had been pretty bad on account of the unseasonal rain. But coming in to the Gary and Mary West center for the event had made his entire day much happier- he won a very fuzzy blanket from the raffle the professors had put together. It was an absolutely lovely experience
Despite all of the work that went into making the event happen, it was completely worth it- an older man stopped to tell me that his day had been pretty bad on account of the unseasonal rain. But coming in to the Gary and Mary West center for the event had made his entire day much happier- he won a very fuzzy blanket from the raffle the professors had put together. It was an absolutely lovely experience