MORGANZA, Md. – When we think of COVID 19, we think of what we have lost. We have lost time with our loved ones, living our daily routine lives; but most importantly, we have lost a sense of community. Students, above all, have lost every sense of what it is to be a member of the community. For these reasons, involving the community is the only way that we can start getting back our lives and move forward to a more meaningful purpose. The class of 2021 has lost so much this year, including pep rallies, homecoming events, talent shows, and many others. It is with the help of our Chopticon community members that they will be moving back to normalcy as young adults. In addition to the loss of our homeschool events, Saint Mary’s County students have lost, the county fair, field day, senior banquet, and a formal prom that was planned for the last three years as undergraduates. However, community leaders started to think outside the box in giving these students all of these things they missed and more. How can we make a positive ever lasting memory for our senior students?

Chopticon High School spearheaded the idea of a free ‘Tailgate Prom’. The class representatives Mr. and Ms. Rodriguez were on a mission how can they combine all that was lost and make the event 100% free for the students with limited resources and with limited fundraising opportunities due to covid restrictions. “Making the event 100% free and enjoyable for the students was the hardest part. But here at Chopticon we had families that were going above and beyond to do so” – (Marc Pirner, principal of CHS). They surveyed the students, gave them options, found out what they liked, and what they wanted their biggest event of the year to be. They had students voted between a traditional prom or this new hybrid model. The students felt that a Tailgate Prom was suitable for them and what it meant for the senior class. After hundreds of phone calls, non – stop negotiations, days of planning, parental volunteering, scheduling timeframes, collecting donations, and multiple meetings, the event was ready, the date was set, and everyone was excited.

On the 15th of May 2021, Chopticon kicked off the tailgate prom and it made a historical event many seniors will never forget. It was it a sight to see. The community surrounding Chopticon supported the event with 2000 water bottles, 300 pieces of Chaptico Market Chicken, 100 pounds of Jo-Jo fries, 8 full trays of mac and cheese, 20 tents, 40 whipped cream pies, 2 snow cone machines, a nacho machine, a popcorn machine, two EMT’s two fires trucks, the local police department (including our own school officer), therapy dogs, a whole slew of yard games/events, and even a photographer that would give a picture 100% free to all students!

This country high school was having the time of its life in the middle of our very own field; and a glimpse of normalcy was felt throughout the entire event. To highlight the event even more so, at the end of the day some teachers got soaked with balloons in raising charity money for Clements Cuties (organization that raises funds in supporting kids with cancer), some kids got pied in the face for the fun of it, the fire department cooled off some of our seniors and staff, and the principal was forced to kiss a pig. The leftover lunch and goodies were donated to the EMT department as a way of showing appreciation. An overall success indeed. One thing is for certain, this was a day to remember that the community at Chopticon High School is the heart and soul of our school system.

We would like to personally thank the following vendors/companies that made all this possible for our CHS seniors dreams came true this year for this event:

• Food Lion
• DJ Dave
• Mechanicsville FD
• Mechanicsville EMT
• Police Recruitment
• Chaptico Market
• Your Journey Productions
• Pets on Wheels
• Health Department
• Russell Farms

We would also like to personally thank the following stakeholders, Jostens, parents, teachers, administrators, building service workers, cafeteria staff members, Superintendent Scott Smith, Commissioner O’Conner, and other important community members that came out in support of our senior class 2021.