A Night To Remember: Miami Northwestern Prom Becomes Viral Hit With Glamorous Flair
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As prom season comes to a close, one Miami high school has become quite the viral sensation. A compilation video shared by Miami Northwestern alum and teacher Tyeshia Bryant has garnered more than four million views. The video shows the seniors donning glamorous looks and arriving at the momentous occasion in style.
“This is the norm,” said Bryant. “But this class set the bar slightly higher because everyone understood the assignment.
From Lamborghinis to Mercedes-Benzes, BMWs, Rolls Royces, and beyond, Northwestern students arrived at their prom, held at Hilton Downtown on May 11, with one thing in mind –- dress to impress, the Miami-Herald reports.
At one point during the night, two students arrived in a Tesla Cybertruck, complete with a police escort.
“It’s our school’s legacy,” said senior class vice-president Algieria Thomas. “Our school is known to step, so you have to step.”
For 2024, Northwestern’s prom theme was “Majestic Beauty: A Night of Elegance and Class,” which Thomas helped to spearhead, noting that she particularly enjoyed that the concept was vague and could be interpreted in several ways.
“It lets people represent their definition of class and elegance,” said Thomas, who plans to attend Alabama State University, majoring in business upon graduation. She arrived at the event in a BMW 5 Series alongside her prom date, both dressed in white with silver accents.
In 2020, the 370 seniors at Northwestern began their high school career just as a global pandemic was on the horizon. This is why class sponsor Krista Gibbs, responsible for planning all of the class field trips and other events, wanted to ensure that this was a year for the books.
“I’ve been trying to do it big for them all year,” said Gibbs. “Prom was just the grand finale. I wanted everything to go right.”
In the end, after seeing all the students arrive in style with looks and accessories that were over the top to match, all of the stress leading up to the event was worth it.
“I was just so happy,” Gibbs expressed.
While she didn’t attend Northwestern, as an alumnus of Carol City High and Florida A&M University, Gibbs understood the pageantry of it all, explaining that Black excellence is not only the norm but the standard at the high school.
“That culture stuck with me, and it was something that was important for me to recreate for the kids because this only happens once, and you’ll remember it for the rest of your life,” Gibbs said. “We need to instill culture and tradition and pride into our students because they need that.”
When it opened its doors in 1955, Miami Northwestern became one of the first high schools for Black students, thus launching its rich history as a school with a reputation for producing notable Black professionals known for positively impacting the community. Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, Miami-Dade District 1 School Board Member Steve Gallon III, and former NFL quarterback and current Northwestern football coach Teddy Bridgewater are just a few notable names that are products of the esteemed secondary education institution.
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