Mississauga high school student organizing virtual prom for students across Canada

While the province is urging Ontario school boards to reschedule proms and graduation ceremonies, one Mississauga student is working with a student-led committee to bring a virtual prom to secondary school students across Canada. 

Michael Salib, a Grade 12 student at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School, is working with Student Life Network– Canada’s largest online network of students–to organize #PromIsOn2020.

The virtual prom, which is open to high school students across Canada, is scheduled for Friday, May 22, 2020.

Salib says the prom will be a great way to bring people together at a time when they cannot connect in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I love my school and I miss it so much. I probably had my last day of school and didn’t realize it,” he told insauga.com. 

Salib said he got involved with #PromIsOn2020 through the Student Life Network, which he joined in fall 2019. 

“After everything [with the virus] happened, Student Life Network announced they were looking for a prom committee to do a virtual prom. They wanted it run by students for students and they sent out an email with an application. I filled it out and then I got a reply back from a co-founder who set up a virtual interview with me,” Salib says. 

“She told me the day after I was in.” 

Salib is part of a committee of 36 grade 12 students from all over Canada who are working to organize a live-streamed event that will allow grads and other students to show off their prom wear, dance to a live DJ set by Juno-winning artists Loud Luxury, and meet fellow students from across the country.

“We have someone from every province and the territories. We have seven representatives from Ontario,” he says, adding that he’s representing Mississauga. 

While the event–which also feature some yet-to-be-announced celebrity shout-outs–will be all about fun, it’ll also help the country by raising money and mental health awareness for Kids Help Phone. 

For every student that joins, a donation will be made.

“Working on the committee has been so fun. We brainstorm with Student Life Network and reach out to students and come up with ideas. Ultimately, the students will be interested if they see that we’re interested,” he says. 

“Will we get celebrity shoutouts and there will be prizes. We made a promposal for Ontario as well.”

Salib says the event is free and that students can get involved–and donate to Kids Help Phone–in three ways. 

First, students can participate in the Prom Wave Challenge on Tik Tok (check out @studentlifenetwork to see how to do it). Secondly, students can get creative with Student Life Network’s promposal challenge on Instagram by asking a pet, friend, or another person to the prom. Challenge participants must tag @studentlifenetwork to their feed or story.

The third way simply involves tuning in live on Friday, May 22 at 8 pm (ET).

“Every time someone does one of those three things, a donation is made to Kids Help Phone through CIBC bank,” Salib says. 

As for how to attend the event itself, Salib says students who RSVP will get a link to the May 22 prom.

The event will be live-streamed on YouTube, and students might be virtually called in to show off their prom outfits.

“We might as well get as close to the real thing as possible. We want to connect everyone even though they’re in their homes,” he says. 

“The event is open to anybody in Canada, and it’s open to any high school and any high school student, not just Grade 12 students.”

Students who want to attend can RSVP (and learn more about the virtual party) at www.promison2020.com.

Photos courtesy of Michael Salib