Supporting its pillars of service and unity, Nazareth hosted the 3rd FISH Prom for students with disabilities. FISH Prom is a special night that comes only once every other year and offers a magical, unforgettable experience for all participants. This year’s FISH Prom was no exception, with an overwhelming number of Nazareth student and faculty volunteers, attendees, and support. The night had a great turnout, with over 50 guests and 150 student volunteers, the largest student group in the history of FISH Prom.

The magical night offers Nazareth students a chance to serve and connect with guests. Festivities included food, a variety of games including bags and guess the amount, dancing, photo-booth and pictures, and music. FISH Prom offers students and guests alike an opportunity to inspire others and be inspired, as well as have a great time.

FISH Prom debuted in 2012, after 2012 Alum Nick Cozzi came up with the idea of hosting a dance for students of disabilities. He currently runs Tropical Snow and still supports FISH Prom, along with his brother who runs a coffee shop and also has Down’s Syndrome. Mr.Gonzalez, who had run an event of this type in high school, and Mrs. Caragher approved it. It has since evolved: the introduction of photo booths this year, and the green carpet to go with this year’s St. Patrick’s day theme.

FISH Prom offers the chance to connect with more people in our community. Mr. Gonzalez says, “It’s been really cool. The community itself seems to really like it; we get a lot of positive feedback with it, from the attendees and people around the area. We were very well supported by businesses in the area who love to take part in it too; from Paul’s a lot of businesses in downtown LaGrange, and many some of the bigger businesses, so that was great.”

In addition, the experience had a positive impact on those who were involved in running the event, as well as the guests.

Becca Letcher, a senior at Nazareth, comments on her experience as part of the Steering Committee: “FISH prom was an extension of our FISH program so I have been in the FISH program at Naz since freshman year, and so it was a project I definitely looked up to when Jocelyn and Matt did it, and I definitely wanted to head this one. Mrs. Caragher asked us to work on it, so we took it on as our year-long project. Just what you get out of it is so important because it’s different when you’re working with adults versus kids who are your own age and are more relatable, and just seeing how happy they with it and everything went really well and we had a great turn out. We had fifty plus guests and it was just a huge success, and I couldn’t be more happy with it.”

Senior Maggie Harrington, also a member of the Steering Committee, reflects on her experiences of the event stating, “As a sophomore, I participated in FISH Prom as one of the buddies, and I had a really great time. From there, I knew I wanted to be a part of it senior year because it is a bi-annual event, and so I joined the steering team. I am so proud of the Nazareth community for their overwhelming support that night. It was their hard work and enthusiasm that made the night a huge success!”

Mr. Gonzalez added that “As the night goes on, I always tell Mrs. Caragher that after we ran it the first time she’d never want to stop running it. The first time we crowned the king and queen and saw the look on their faces and how happy they were, we just realized this was something Nazareth wants to do. So it’s a way for us to connect with the community that we don’t get to connect with on the daily, which is very, very unique and a great opportunity and way our students handle themselves, the way they have, the way they establish connections with a different group of people that they’re not usually around is awesome, and to learn how that community works, how awesome that community is, and kind of takes away the preconceived notions about things you don’t know too much about.”

With Nazareth’s mission set in service and inclusion, FISH Prom definitely is a step closer to that goal.