The news was so good, Lana Ailes had to save the message.
”
As soon as I got (home), she said ‘come listen to the answering
machine,’
”
said daughter Jenny Ailes, a Gilroy High School senior.
Gilroy – The news was so good, Lana Ailes had to save the message.
“As soon as I got (home), she said ‘come listen to the answering machine,'” said daughter Jenny Ailes, a Gilroy High School senior.
The Westfield Oakridge in south San Jose is going to pay for the 17-year-old’s prom, the mall’s marketing director said on the recording. The Ailes women were ecstatic. The prize lifted a burden that had been weighing on Jenny and her date, Lorenzo Bertolami, for more than a month – earning the hundreds of dollars needed to prepare for and participate in tonight’s event.
“I was very excited and very relieved because I don’t have to pay for everything now,” said Bertolami, a senior.
Bertolami had been taking extra shifts behind the counter at Jamba Juice up in Morgan Hill to afford his prom ticket, tuxedo and corsage. The mall will cover all these items, giving a bit of breathing room in his schedule, which was already packed due to homework and swimming tournaments.
Ailes was chosen from among hundreds of entrants who had entered a drawing at the San Jose shopping center. Entrants were required to submit their personal information and a receipt of a purchase of prom-related merchandise. Ailes had bought a pair of shoes earlier that day.
While the mall will not reimburse Ailes for the shoes, it will pay for her jewelry, makeup, hair and ticket, and will contribute $50 toward her dress. It is also transporting the couple in a limo throughout the night and treating them to dinner before the prom.
The good news is welcome to the Ailes family, who lost son and brother Lance Cpl. Jeramy Ailes in November 2004. The then 22-year-old is the only Gilroyan to have died in the Iraq war and the first resident to die in combat since Vietnam.
While Jenny Ailes and Bertolami, both 17 years old, estimate they saved more than $500 thanks to the mall’s promotion, other high school couples are not so lucky. With the cost of clothing, transportation and entrance to the event, some student are shelling out more than $1,000 to make the night unforgettable.
Or even more.
Jennifer Smith is one senior after this goal and will have spent about $1,100 by the time prom night is finished, she said. This includes paying $475 for her dress, $140 on a hotel room for an after-party and $75 for a ticket. The remaining $500 comes from her purchasing jewelry, dinner, pictures, a tanning session, hairstyling, alterations to her dress, shoes, a manicure, a pedicure and a professional makeup job. All this money is for just one night, Smith said, although the manicure might last longer.
“I’m never going to wear my dress again,” she said.
Smith’s parents are bearing the cost of her prom because they understand she will only graduate once, she said. Her date, senior Javin Charlot, has spent an additional $400, including $140 on a tuxedo, $140 for a hotel room and $75 for a ticket. His parents are also covering his expenditures, as they have for the past three proms he has attended.
However, prom does not have to be this expensive, said Julie Berggren, the high school’s activities director.
“I know a girl who got a dress at Ross for $6.99 and it looks gorgeous and it’s totally appropriate for prom,” she said.
While students are required to show up in formal attire, a tuxedo is not necessary – a collared shirt and a tie is acceptable, said Berggren. Students are not forced to make lavish purchases.
“It just depends on how much money they want to spend,” she said.
Beyond being thrifty in their wardrobe and having their makeup, hair and nails done by friends or family, students can save through reduced ticket prices. The Latinos Program and the principal’s office will offset some of the $75 ticket for students who are having trouble affording the prom. About 10 students have had part of their tickets for senior events – such as the prom, the senior dinner and the Disneyland trip – paid for by the Latinos club, said Jose Hernandez, the program advisor.
“I know growing up low-income how expensive senior year is,” he said.
Seniors often pay $180 for a trip to Disneyland, $55 for a graduation night party, $35 for a cap and gown, and $16 for every package of 10 graduation announcements. The program puts about $3,000 of its fund-raising dollars toward these purchases each year. It also spends an additional $6,000 on standardized testing and college application fees and on field trips to colleges. However, these are not handouts, Hernandez said.
“Nothing’s free,” he said. “The boys and girls who get the scholarships are the ones who’ve been helping for four years.”
Even though the funds are being spent on optional, nonacademic activities such as prom, it is money well spent, said Hernandez.
“It’s the culmination of your four years here and enjoying the friendships you’ve built,” he said. “Once we leave high school, we don’t see our friends the same way.”
In addition to marking the end of their secondary education, the party is a reward for four years of hard work, said Charlot.
“It’s fun and it’s our last year, so we got to go out with a bang,” he said.
