Newsroom

Students, Alumni, & Faculty Volunteer for Night to Shine Event; Give back to the Community

Pennsylvania Highlands Community College is committed to encouraging its students and alumni to give back to the community. Through this commitment, multiple members of the College’s family are doing just that.

Students Emily Potter, Hannah Telenko, and Angela Blank, as well as alumni Kelsey McLachin and Cassidy Belle, will be involved as “prom buddies” for the upcoming Night to Shine event on February 12th, a prom night experience for those with special needs. As a prom buddy, these students and alumni will be paired with a person with special needs throughout the night.

Additionally, Alissa Borow and Glenn Barbis, both members of the College’s Media Production Club led by faculty member Rick Bukoski, will be providing videography of the event. The footage will be not only be used by the event’s organizers, but as a class project for those in the College’s Media Production program.

100 individuals with special needs were invited to be guests for the prom. These invited guests will enter the prom on a red carpet complete with welcoming friendly paparazzi, and they will receive VIP treatment including hair and make-up stations, shoe shining stations, corsages and boutonnieres, a karaoke room, dinner, and, of course, dancing! The highlight of the evening will be when each guest is crowned king or queen of the prom. The prom buddies and volunteers will be there every step of the way to make the night as magical as possible for those in which they are accompanying.

The event is being led and organized by Dennis Miller, an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, and his wife Sue. Dennis and Sue, leaders of the special needs ministry at Emmanuel Baptist Church, have spent months planning and preparing for the prom.

“The Night to Shine event provides Pennsylvania Highlands Community College students with a unique opportunity to serve the community in a meaningful manner,” said Miller. “They have the chance to recognize persons with special needs as valuable members of society while earning community service hours, applying skill sets learned in the classroom, and completing class projects. It is a great way for the members of the College to give back to the community by serving those with special needs.”