Smiles were the order of the evening during Nazareth Academy’s seventh prom for teens with disabilities on March 8 at the school’s La Grange Park campus.

Forty teens with disabilities and 100 Nazareth students took part in festivities that included games, pizza and a DJ. The prom is held every two years.

Guests walked up a green carpet to enter a school, which was decorated with a St. Patrick’s Day theme. Each guest received a corsage or boutonniere with yellow and white flowers as they greeted by their Nazareth “buddy” and whisked off for some fun.

Before the event was over, guests Alec and Halina were crowned prom king and queen. The event was inspired by the coordinated efforts of ASPIRE of Illinois and the Nazareth Friends in Service and Hospitality Service Team.

Nazareth junior Olivia Perez was participating in the event for the second time, but she still was a little nervous before meeting her buddy for the evening.

“Once I meet my buddy, I’m like, so excited,” she said. “They’re just such amazing people. And we just have such a good time. And I just love seeing them happy. It just makes me happy. It brings me joy.”

Before the Nazareth students meet their buddies for the evening, teachers explain what to expect and how to best interact. Some of the students have experience engaging with students with disabilities through the school’s FISH service team. Others, like Perez, have family members with special needs.

It was junior Landon Thome’s first time participating. Events that expose him to people of different abilities teaches him to be grateful for what he has, Thome said.

“It’s rewarding,” said Thome, who volunteered with friends from his baseball team. “And it really, really humbles me and changes my perspective on how to look at things, because most of these kids won’t go to a regular prom.”

Nazareth Academy President Deborah Tracy said the prom fits into the school’s mission “that all may be one,” inspired by the Congregation of St. Joseph, the school’s sponsoring community.

“It’s important, we believe, that students get to know people who are not exactly like themselves because what we find is that we’re more alike than not,” Tracy said. “And so bringing people together that are on the outside, who may be a bit different racially, by gender, by nationality, by geography and also by ability, tells that story [of all may be one] and helps drive that mission home a little bit more for our students.”

The event is a “win-win” for all of the young people, she said.

“Our guests are elated to be able to participate in a prom, but if I had to guess, it’s the Nazareth buddies that get the most out of it,” Tracey said. “The Nazareth buddies learn more about themselves, learn more about the depth of their own ability and their own empathy and compassion and connection. And they leave on cloud nine.”

Vicki van Alphen, a Nazareth Academy parent and alumna, had two sons attending the prom — one as a guest and the other as a buddy. Van Alphen and her husband attended as volunteers for the evening, but all attendees’ parents were welcome to drop off their children or gather in the school’s library with other parents and watch their children on the dance floor via a live video feed.

Her son Jack has Down’s Syndrome and attended for the first time two years ago.

“Our son is a big personality, and he loves being around people, and he loves to dance,” van Alphen said. “Having this opportunity to get to come into this place is so special, to us at Nazareth and have him be just welcomed in and show that he’s equally valued as a person with a disability.”

Her other son is a sophomore at Nazareth and was participating in the event for the first time. He too was looking forward to the experience, she said.

Nazareth Academy goes out of its way to make the prom a safe and fun experience for the guests, van Alphen said.

“It’s absolutely a labor of love,” she said. “But it really speaks to the core of Nazareth. One of the four pillars of Nazareth is unity. And unity is all people. My husband and I, we hope for a world where people with disabilities are equally valued in their communities.”