On May 3, 2025, UC High held a Great Gatsby-themed Prom for seniors at The Ulysses S. Grant Hotel, a luxury hotel in downtown San Diego.

   Senior Class Vice-President Ivy Valdez shared how the theme was decided upon. “We went through a lot of options at first, going through magazines and searching online. We had a few options, one being The Great Gatsby, but what made us choose it was definitely the fact that everyone on the senior cabinet had taken AP English Language and Composition, and we had read and watched The Great Gatsby, so we decided we were going to choose it for the Prom theme,” said Valdez.

   “Once we had a theme in mind, it was pretty easy to picture what we wanted the venue to look like. We wanted it to be fancy and fit the elegant, party theme scenes in the movie. We decided to choose The Ulysses S. Grant hotel because when we looked up pictures of the venue, it fit perfectly with what we were looking for,” said Valdez.

   “During Prom, there was a beautiful area with Gatsby-themed decor, and the dance floor was lit up with lighting from the DJ. We had mini tables in the back for people to gather if they wanted to eat food or take a break from dancing. There was also a photo booth to capture pictures of the special night, and obviously there was a whole lot of dancing,” Valdez explained.

   Senior Athena Stinnett said, “The food was great and both the Grant staff and the teachers were dancing and seemed to be having fun, so the whole vibe was great.”

   Senior Class Advisor and Chemistry Teacher Maureen Quessenberry said, “Prom included dancing, live music from UC Students, a DJ, and a photo booth. The Senior Class officers worked really hard to make it a wonderful event.”

   Senior Class Secretary Kai Anderson explained, “One of the hardest parts was raising the money to be able to make our down payments for the venue on time each month. We have been holding fundraisers since freshman year, and this year we have done them about twice a month, so we were able to come in with a large pot of money to start with.”

  Anderson also described the factors that contributed to the ticket price. “The high price tag came with a high-level Prom experience. Another customization we were looking forward to was the food; the cost of food was probably one of the most expensive aspects of that night, at around $27,000, supplied by the venue. Everyone was able to enjoy the pasta, gnocchi, and sliders that were served,” said Anderson.

   Senior Delaney Churchill explained her takeaway from the night; “I really loved [Prom]. The food was really good, I had a good time dancing, and I liked seeing people all dressed up,” she said. When asked what the highlight of the night was,  she said “The food was the highlight.”