--- title: The Senior Year They Never Had date: 2024-05-13T22:09:00-04:00 author: University of Maryland canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/the-senior-year-they-never-had" section: Articles --- # The Senior Year They Never Had *May 13, 2024* — by [Annie Krakower](/author/annie-krakower) > From Prom to Grad Bash to Classic ‘M’ Photo, Class of ’24 Finally Gets to Celebrate in Style *Prom Classof2024 05102024 SC 2069 1920x1080 — Madison Alvarez '24 takes a video of the dance floor at the prom. She was one of hundreds of students who turned out for a high school tradition this year’s graduating seniors missed in 2020 because of the pandemic.* In the lead-up to Baltimore native Omoleye Adeyemi’s senior prom, she knew she wanted her attire to honor her Nigerian roots for the big night. She’d had a traditional dress custom-made for her in her family’s home country, and she waited eagerly to buy her ticket to the event. Then COVID happened, shuttering schools and canceling not only prom, but senior trips and pranks, College Decision Day, graduations, parties and other end-of-year milestones and celebrations for the Class of 2020. “Junior year, I didn’t go to junior prom because I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll go to senior prom, that’s when it really matters,’” she said. “It was quite upsetting for me, because when I look back, I don’t really have those memories.” Four years later, Adeyemi, now president of the University of Maryland’s Senior Council, led the group in organizing what it called “the prom we never had,” with hundreds of Terp seniors putting on suits and bow ties and slinky dresses for the dance in the Stamp Student Union’s Grand Ballroom on Friday night. The event, which featured a “Great Gatsby” theme, a DJ and hors d’oeuvres from Good Tidings, was free of charge thanks to support from Omicron Delta Kappa, the Alumni Association, the Division of Student Affairs and a[ Pepsi Enhancement Fund](https://stamp.umd.edu/pepsi_enhancement_fund) grant. *four people stand in front of a black backdrop having pictures taken — From left, seniors Anna Chen, Angela Cheng, Lars Knudsen and Augustine Morinigo pose with Roaring Twenties props at Friday night’s prom at the Stamp Student Union.* --- *feet of two dancers dancing* Anna Wietrecki '24 (left) kicks off her shoes to dance with Greta Fream '24. --- *a line of dancers crouches* From left, Faina Pensy '25, Julia Kallaur '24, Quentin Hoglund '24 and Dawn Barreto '24 get low during a group dance at the prom. --- *twin brothers speak to an auidience from a stage* Twin brothers Alex (left) and Chad Mckee '24 accept the honor of being named prom royalty. --- *large M made of people on football field* Members of the Class of 2024 created the classic M on the SECU Stadium field on May 8 after missing out on the tradition as freshmen. It was part of Grad Bash, hosted by the Alumni Association, Division of Student Affairs and Maryland Athletics. The event shifted to the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center for a digital photo booth, free food, a DJ and raffle prizes. (Photo by Chris Lyons/Maryland Athletics) ***Karen Shih '09, Lucy Hubbard '24 and Lauren Brown contributed to this article.* **Sidebar note:** The University of Maryland will celebrate August 2023, December 2023 and May 2024 graduates at the annual campuswide Commencement ceremony at 6 p.m. Monday at SECU Stadium. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore will deliver the commencement address. For details on the program, speaker bios, individual ceremony information for colleges and schools, and information on parking and accommodations, visit [commencement.umd.edu](http://commencement.umd.edu/). **Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community) **Tags:** [Student Experience](https://today.umd.edu/topic/student-experience) **Units:** [Alumni Association](https://today.umd.edu/topic/alumni-association), [Department of Intercollegiate Athletics](https://today.umd.edu/topic/department-intercollegiate-athletics), [Division of Student Affairs](https://today.umd.edu/topic/division-student-affairs)