Miss Red Rocks, Utah Tech University’s Accessibility and Disability Center, and The Invisible Disability Project are joining together to host Prom of Possibilities to create inclusion for students and community members with visible and invisible disabilities.
The event will be March 28 in the Gardner Student Center’s ballroom. Prom of Possibilities is being hosted from 7 to 10 p.m. by the Student Accessibility Board, which is a student-led organization on campus par of the Accessibility and Disability Center.
The SAB’s goal is to reduce stigma surrounding disabilities, spread awareness and create an inclusive campus community. SAB is helping with the event by assisting with donations, promoting the event at local schools and implementing accessibility features for the event.
“Prom of Possibilities creates a space where individuals with disabilities feel celebrated, safe and seen,” said Meleah Ridd, the Accessibility and Disability Center coordinator. “By hosting it at Utah Tech, we’re strengthening community connection and making it clear that accessibility and belonging are part of who we are.”
The event will include a DJ, photo booth, food, a raffle and many more activities for attendees to participate in. To make the event inclusive to attendees with disabilities, there will be a “chill zone” with earplugs and sunglasses for those who may feel overstimulated.
“We got a junior varsity or varsity band from one of the local schools that are going to be hyping everyone up,” said Mikaylie Roberts, a junior chemistry major from Mountain View, Wyoming, who is a SAB officer involved with the event. “For anyone who feels overstimulated from the loud noises, we’re going to have a silent hype.”
Olivia Wolff, a senior exercise major from Bakersfield, California, is leading the event with her initiative as Miss Red Rocks. Wolff originated the event to create a space where individuals with disabilities can feel included and celebrated.
“I think something that’s very beautiful about this prom is that it’s for anybody and everybody,” Wolff said. “It’s not just for anybody with special needs, it’s for anybody who has a disability, visible or invisible.”
Wolff advocates the following in her initiative, The Invisible Disability Project.
- Resources aren’t a privilege and should be more accessible.
- There should be more empathy to build a world where people with disabilities are believed because kindness is a form of accessibility.
- There should be more advocacy for stories from people with disabilities.
“This prom is free to the St. George community because inclusion should never come with a price tag,” Wolff wrote in an Instagram post. “Everyone deserves a space where they feel celebrated, safe and seen exactly as they are.”
The SAB hopes to strengthen community connection and bring more awareness to the accessibility and support services at Utah Tech, showing the community that disability support and understanding are available on campus.
With Wolff and the collaboration of the ADC, there is hope that this event reflects student initiative supported by institutional leadership to expand inclusion beyond campus.
“I’m incredibly grateful to the Utah Tech ADC for believing in this vision and helping make it a reality,” Wolff said. “This partnership means so much to me, not just as a titleholder, but as someone who lives with a disability and knows firsthand how powerful representation and access can be.”
