Malvern Prom Committee Reimagines the Senior Prom

Malvern Reinvents Senior Prom

Malvern’s Senior Prom was held May 8, 2021, but looked amazingly different from the traditional proms of years past. It was held outside on Malvern’s beautiful Quad replete with food trucks, carnival games, photo booths, and fireworks!

When planning for the prom began just before Christmas break, the country was still in the midst of the COVID pandemic, making planning for any event difficult. This year’s senior class had already missed out on their Junior Prom, which had been canceled due to the pandemic. When asked what drove the decision for Malvern to reimagine the prom to fit within COVID protocols, Dr. Fry, Director of Student Life, responded, “Honestly, it was a comment from a student in December. A senior said, ‘It’s hard to believe that I may go through high school without ever attending a prom.’ That comment haunted me to the point where I knew we needed to do something. Fr. Reilly, Mr. Algeo, and I were determined to try and have something for the students.”

With that determination, a Student Prom Committee was formed and included seniors: Josh Smith, Owen Bergan, Brendan McLaughlin, John Baran, Teddy Meehan, Owen Maul, Brad Corsi, Tommy Klusarits, Cooper Frankenheimer, Aidan Catania, and Andrew Monteith. By all accounts, the students made this prom happen — from planning to organizing to executing.

Josh Smith recalled, “We wanted to create something that our class would have a ton of fun at, but we also wanted it to be safe. Our goal was to ultimately create something where people didn’t even realize there were COVID restrictions because they were having so much fun.”

The overall feedback from prom guests was extremely positive. “I remember going up to the stage with a few of the committee members about a half-hour into the prom and just looking out and seeing everyone eating and playing games. There weren’t people sitting around at a table, super bored like you would usually see at a prom or homecoming dance. This was enough for me to be happy,” shared Smith.

Smith credits the entire Prom Committee with pulling off a memorable event. “I could not have been more proud of the dedication that the rest of the guys showed. Being a part of the process, I know how much time and effort it took to make it all happen. I am most proud of the fact that I can say I was involved with a group that cares about their classmates so much, they are willing to dedicate hours to make sure it is perfect. No one on the committee had any experience with planning an event, so we all went into it blind. Even though we were all inexperienced in that regard, it still turned out to be perfect, so I could not be happier,” said Smith.

The prom was such an incredible success that the junior class has already been surveyed about what they might like for their prom next year. “Responses seem to lean to an on-campus, outdoor event for 2022,” shared Dr. Fry. mp

Six Seniors Receive National Merit Honors

Congratulations to the six seniors honored by the National Merit Scholarship Program. Over 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Thomas Wang was one of 16,000 Semi-Finalists. Christopher Ayres, Brad Corsi, Joe Fricker (not pictured), Maceo Giampietro, and Daniel Ward all were Commended Students. mp

Malvern Campus Celebrates Earth Week

The Malvern Prep Environmental Club hosted a robust Earth Week 2021 celebration on campus.

The Earth Week Fair was held on Tuesday, April 20, and included plastic bottle bowling, a sustainability pledge table, a climate justice presentation, turtles from the Malvern Zoo, and seed planting. In addition, Thomas Wang ‘21 of the Beekeeping Club was there to explain the process of making honey.

On Earth Day, April 22, the Environmental Club planted a Redbud ‘Merlot’ tree in front of the Sullivan Hall stairs. Club co-leaders, Sean McCarthy ‘21 and Daniel Balmer ‘22, along with club members Cade Hepplemann ‘24, Jake Marrone ‘23, and Carter Deves ‘23 were part of this planting initiative. mp

Malvern Students Making an Impact Towards the Fight Against COVID-19

Beginning last May, and lasting through the height of the pandemic, 10 Malvern students contributed to the fight against COVID-19 by manufacturing, packaging, and distributing COVID-19 testing kits at Dyad Enterprise’s facility in King of Prussia, PA.

Chris Buysse, Ryan Davis, Henry Heeb, Gavin Kane, Evan Kent, Hans Kiernan, Jett Neily, Andrew Ragaglia, Roman Vernisi, and Alex Vu stepped up to provide their time and work ethic. Their daily tasks included assembling the kits in bags, arranging box shipments, and loading those shipments onto trucks. In total, this group contributed to producing over 10 million COVID Collection Kits to help protect our local community, along with businesses, schools, and individuals throughout the US. Dyad provided jobs to over 500 individuals throughout the pandemic.

“Dyad has given me a unique opportunity to work a fulfilling job with many other like-minded individuals looking to help out and make a difference in a dire time,” shared Vu.

According to Ragaglia, “It started out as just a job that started over the summer, but from my very first day, I realized that Dyad is much more than a job. It is a community of people that became close friends by achieving the same goal, which was to do whatever we could to help combat the pandemic. It was an uplifting experience that changed who I was as a person for the better and gave me memories and bonds I will never forget.”

Buysse reflected on the friendships and sense of purpose he found. “I began work at Dyad toward the end of the school year. It helped me make new friends, make the summer days go by, and made me feel like I was contributing to fight the pandemic. I had a ton of awesome memories at Dyad and met some incredible friends there. It is, without a doubt, the most unique thing I’ve ever been a part of and truly loved working there.”

The opportunity for our students to work at Dyad Enterprise came about through word of mouth from colleagues at other schools. The team at Dyad consisted of about 85% of high school and college students from local public and private schools. mp

Malvern Virtually Celebrates 47th B.A.S.H. Event

Malvern Prep celebrated its 47th B.A.S.H. event virtually for the 2020–2021 academic year. The theme of the annual auction was Unmasked, an opportunity for the Malvern community to unmask themselves and reveal their inner superhero. Over three days, from April 22–April 24, 2021, members of the Malvern community were treated to a variety of virtual messages, a superhero drive-by along Ring Road, a Cocktails for Caritas contest, and a silent auction raffle. Our live auction featured items such as a private dinner with former White House Chef Moeller, travel stays, and a graduation package. The online auction included beautiful pieces of student artwork, shopping and dining certificates, travel stays, and more.

The event was graciously chaired by Mr. and Mrs. Stephen and Evelyn Bennett P‘23‘25 & Mr. and Mrs. Earl and Susan Weaver P‘24. After the last auction item was bid on and the last gift counted, the evening raised just over $250,000. Thank you to all of our sponsors, table chairs, and those who participated and supported this important and monumental event for our school! mp