To our high school grads: Don’t leave that Philadelphia prom energy behind
The world you are entering will not always celebrate your arrival or make room for your voice. That means you will have to do what you did on prom night: show up.
It’s graduation season in Philadelphia and across the country. But before the caps fly and diplomas are handed out, there’s another moment that reveals just as much about who our young people are becoming: prom.
Nobody does prom like Philadelphia.
Here, prom isn’t just a dance. It’s a declaration. Send-offs spill onto stoops and sidewalks as families, neighbors, and whole blocks gather to celebrate.
Polished cars, bold outfits, unforgettable entrances — it’s Philly style and excellence on full display.
But it’s also a moment to pause and celebrate what students have accomplished as we send them toward graduation with pride.
Last month, my son stepped off our porch in a black embroidered Chinese-cut tuxedo he designed himself. Watching him walk into that moment, confident in who he is, reminded me of something powerful: Our young people already know how to show up boldly. They just need to carry that energy into what comes next.
Because graduation is not just a milestone, it is a transition into a world that will not always feel as affirming as that sidewalk send-off.
Our young people already know how to show up boldly. They just need to carry that energy into what comes next.
It has been a while since I have given a commencement speech, but I do have a message for this year’s graduates:
The world you are entering will not always celebrate your arrival, recognize your brilliance, or make room for your voice.
That means you will have to do what you did on prom night: show up anyway.
Show up boldly in rooms where you are not expected. Show up creatively when there is no clear path. Show up as yourself, even when it would be easier to shrink.
Carry that same confidence into every room you enter — whether it is a college classroom, a first job, a new city, or the community that raised you. Some of you will build your futures right here in Philadelphia.
Others will carry Philadelphia with you into new cities, new campuses, new workplaces, and new communities. Wherever you go, bring the creativity, grit, compassion, and presence this city has already helped shape in you.
And for those who stay, Philadelphia needs that energy now more than ever. We need your ideas, your leadership, your care for your neighbors, and your willingness to help build the city’s next chapter.
We need that Philly energy.
I know that energy matters because I carried it to the state Capitol when I served our city as a state representative, and I carry it now in my work to end homelessness as president and CEO of Project HOME. Every day, I walk into rooms where the stakes are high and the challenges are real, and I am reminded that leadership requires the same presence, courage, and authenticity our young people show on prom night.
It takes vision when the path is uncertain, confidence when the work is hard, and the boldness to believe we can solve homelessness in our lifetime.
Philadelphia’s prom culture teaches our youth not to wait to be seen, not to wait to lead. Instead, step forward and let the world catch up.
» READ MORE: $27,000 for a castle? When it’s prom season in Philly, anything’s possible. | Jenice Armstrong
Leadership is not about position. It is about participation, initiative, and showing up even while you are still figuring things out.
It is about caring enough to act and using whatever platform you have, no matter how small it may seem, to make a difference.
And like those prom send-offs, none of this happens alone.
Behind every graduate is a supportive network of families, teachers, mentors, and neighbors who showed up, sacrificed, and believed in you long before this moment. That support does not disappear. It becomes something you carry with you, and something you are called to extend to others.
That is how we build stronger communities, here in Philadelphia, or wherever your path takes you.
So to the Class of 2026: Celebrate this moment. You earned it.
But do not leave that prom energy behind.
Donna Bullock is the president and CEO of Project HOME.