Everyone knows Ariel as the princess Under the Sea, but after the Best Buddies Prom last week, Ashley Donnelly is giving her a run for her money! Wearing a pink dress, matching nails, and ribbons in her hair, Ashley shone brighter than the disco balls at this Under the Sea themed dance.

On March 18, 2022, members of Franklin High School’s Best Buddies program gathered together at The Elks. The blue backdrop, disco balls, and hand-painted shells by the program’s Independent Living class set the Under the Sea scene as attendees danced to their favorite pop music.

“It was very fancy and it was so fun to see all of my friends!” exclaimed Ashley Donnelly, a proud member of the Best Buddies program. And fancy it was. Students that attended the Prom were able to have their hair, makeup, and nails done by cosmetology students at Tri-County Regional High School. Donnelly was ecstatic about her waterfall braid, and the pink ribbons weaved into her hairstyle matched her hot pink nails perfectly.

This Prom was the first that Best Buddies has held in several years, due to Coronavirus restrictions. This meant that many of the students had never attended a Prom before. 

Donnelly said: “It was great because it was my first one and I didn’t really know how I was going to react.” Going on to give the night a 10/10 rating, it is clear that she enjoyed her first ever Prom experience.

Donnelly was not the only one to enjoy the Prom; students were raving about their night for several days afterwards! Specifically, there were three most highly regarded parts of the dance: the food (pasta, salad, and candy), Taylor Swift songs coming over the speakers, and, of course, the dancing. 

“It was so fun! Whoever planned it made it just perfect”, beamed Ashley Donnelly in the days following the Best Buddies Prom. Being one of three FHS Proms in the 2021-22 school year, this was certainly one for the books.