One of the most well-known events at Edina High School is the eagerly anticipated spring Prom. Taking place at the end of the school year, prom is a fun-filled night reserved especially for seniors. It’s a dance that many have heard of, but what exactly does it take to make the night run as smoothly and successfully as it has in recent years? Working behind the scenes of the 2019 Prom is none other than Edina High School’s very own student council.

A group of students on StudCo is a part of the prom planning committee, led this year by juniors Bennett Dykstra and Sophie Vaillancourt. They hold weekly meetings with the rest of the committee to discuss logistics and work on planning out the event.

It comes as no surprise that their first step was picking a venue, and this year, after submitting applications to several nearby locations, they reserved the renowned US Bank Stadium. “It’s really cool for most seniors because the US Bank Stadium is overlooking the river and downtown, so it’s a really cool view,” Dykstra said.

However, the new location poses certain challenges, such as coordinating entrances and parking, due to the large size of the venue. “Because it’s not a school layout we have to make sure everyone knows which doors to go into, because it’s such a big stadium,” Dykstra said.

In addition, when asked about their biggest setback, Dykstra mentioned the general difficulty with the large stadium as it relates to food catering. “We have a really awesome food catering service, but because this service is for the entire US Bank Stadium, it’s been super busy with all these other events so it’s been hard to effectively communicate with them and it’s made the general process of ordering food more difficult.”

However, the committee is excited about prom night and is consistently working hard to overcome any setbacks. “In the end, it’s just a small hiccup to get to a fun prom,” Dykstra added.

Generally, most of the senior class attends prom, which correlates to nearly 700 students. Along with arranging logistics for the enormous student body at the location, there are also tasks to be handled prior to the event such as registration and getting parents involved. “Another thing was sending all the information out to the parents and getting the link and the correct information out to the students as well, so that they know when the tickets go out, when they double [in price], how they can get their tickets, everything like that,” Vaillancourt said.

Planning prom is also a unique experience for Studco, as the project is reserved exclusively for juniors. “A unique aspect of the prom group is that usually your groups that you’re working in for pep fests or another dance is people from all grades, but every single year for prom, the group that plans it is all the juniors on studco,” Dykstra said.

The time it takes to plan such a large event is evident in Studco’s current prioritized schedule. Despite the many other events and activities they continue to plan, prom stands out on their agenda. “Right now, it’s our main focus. Studco is split into different groups right now: there’s Powder Prom, Fun Day Friday,  but as juniors our main focus right now is prom,” Vaillancourt said.

One thing is for certain, with lots of hard work and planning behind the scenes, Studco is ready to ensure a fun night for the seniors.