Two corrections were made to this story on 4/9/2025.

In the story, Gavin Leser’s name was incorrectly spelled as Gavin Lesser. His name is Gavin Leser.

Also, Karen Zhao was incorrectly attributed as the co-president of the junior class council. She is the co-vice president of the junior class council.

The story below has been corrected with the noted revisions.

As the sun began to set, casting a hazy, orange glow on the city of West Palm Beach, the sound of jazz music was just beginning to start as students dressed in gowns, suits, and flapper dresses gathered in the Palm Beach County Convention Center for a night of dancing.

The dance took place Saturday, April 5, and was based on the 1925 novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, making 2025 the novel’s 100-year anniversary. The junior class council, led by first-year sponsor Kettia Nesbitt, started brainstorming theme ideas in August by pairing into small groups and creating presentations to pitch their ideas.

“In the end, we all like(d) ‘The Great Gatsby’ the most,” junior class council co-vice president and piano junior Karen Zhao said. “They (the Prom goers) all look super happy, so I’m really glad that they are hopefully enjoying the night.”

The junior class council was also in charge of decorating the venue for the event. A few weeks before Prom, the decorator was let go, leaving the responsibility of finding most of the decorations to the junior class council members and Mrs. Nesbitt. On Saturday morning, with the help of members of the freshman and sophomore class councils, they worked together to design the centerpieces, place the tablecloths, and set up the photo-op backdrop.

“We had to buy and set everything up by ourselves, so that was a little stressful, but we got through it,” Zhao said. “It took a lot of people, but overall, it went pretty smoothly, and (the) class councils worked really well together.”

For some students and teachers, the theme held an additional meaning. “The Great Gatsby” is a required reading at the school in the Advanced Placement (AP) English Language and Composition classes taught by English teacher Nathan Hesse and English dean Carmen Gallardo. The book is also required in English teacher Zachary Rozanski’s class. For vocal junior Gabriela Loveland, the dance “brought the story to life.”

“I for sure thought Mr. Hesse and Ms. Gallardo plotted this,” Loveland said. “I was like, ‘Oh, they definitely planned to have this theme, that’s why they made us read the book.’ I heard that the theme was going to be ‘Under the Sea’ or ‘La La Land,’ but honestly, I’m happy with this because I knew more about the theme because of reading it (the book).”

The theme inspired some to dress according to the time period of the book. Visual senior Ella Ilnisky combined elements from the 1920s and the color scheme of the fictional character Cruella de Vil to create her outfit.

“The theme is Roaring Twenties, but I wanted to do something based on Cruella de Vil, so I got a zebra print outfit and the dog hide, and I tried to get that 1920s vibe going on,” Ilnisky said. “I love the ‘20s. I love the makeup, the style, and especially the art. It’s beautiful for this to be my last year, my last Prom. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Throughout the night, students voted for Prom king and queen by placing tickets into shoe boxes, decorated by the candidates, at the entrance of the convention center. Visual senior Taniyah Aris, vocal senior Andie Miller, communications senior London Sanford, vocal senior Daniel Patino, strings senior William Tong, and communications senior Gavin Leser were the nominees for Prom royalty. Sanford and Leser, as well as Miller and Patino, decided to run their campaign together as a couple.

“I noticed that they (Prom nominations) went live, and I was like ’Oh, we should run,’ so we posted on Instagram, and we ended up being on the roster,” Miller said. “We’ve been dating for six years, and I feel like it was a really cute way to wrap up high school.”

As the night went on, students danced, had dinner from a buffet, took photos, and received black blankets as their Prom keepsakes. By the end of the night, Tong was crowned Prom king with a total of 204 votes, and Aris won Prom queen with 174 votes. When the results were announced, each received a crown to commemorate their win.

“In the senior class, everybody nominates their friends or somebody they know, and I just ended up being one of them,” Aris said. “I was very excited when I found out I was a nominee. This Prom is a very surreal experience. It’s been a way to celebrate all of our accomplishments and our hard work.”

For many juniors, the dance marked their first Prom experience and the beginning of their transition into their final year of high school. On the other hand, for many seniors, including visual senior Riley Shea, Prom served as a way to “finish off everything” and “celebrate (their) last couple months together.”

“Since right now everyone’s committing to schools and wrapping up their senior year, this is such a fun celebration of that,” Shea said. “It feels like we’re celebrating how much work we put in this year and these past four years.”