Michiko Canape joked she was on her honeymoon at the “senior prom” Saturday at Central Union Church.

Michiko, 78, has actually been married for two years, but she took a newlywed photo of sorts with her 67-year-old husband, Peter, at the event — with Michiko carrying a blue Japanese umbrella over her left shoulder and Peter donning a viking helmet.

“I’m so happy to come here,” Michiko said after the photo, but before she headed back to take solo photos with a red boa around her shoulders. “I see the costumes, I see the floor dancing. That makes me so enjoy (it).”

The Canapes were among about 175 kupuna who attended the prom, an event organized by McKinley High School students and the culmination of a yearly leadership development program at the school run by the nonprofit Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders.

CTL’s program, called the Ambassadors program, is at 11 high schools in Hawaii and works to develop young leaders for the island community, said CTL Executive Director Katie Chang.

She said the program tries to empower students who show leadership potential and help them immediately start making a difference.

When the program arrived at McKinley five years ago, students began looking for a project and discovered a high rate of suicide and depression among seniors, Chang said. In response, the students created the Lokahi project to help seniors combat loneliness and depression.

The senior proms started in 2014 as part of the Lokahi project and became an annual event for McKinley ambassadors.

Anna Kim, who graduated from McKinley this year, was one of the main organizers for the senior prom and said this year’s prom nearly doubled in attendance. In addition, this past school year, student ambassadors began visiting seniors at Kulana Hale on a weekly basis.

Besides teaching her the basics of leadership, such as having good character, the program changed her view of leadership, she said.

“Before, I just thought anyone who was bossy enough is a leader,” she said. But the program taught her about servant leadership, caring for her team members, and developing a vision to inspire others to action.

April Nakamura, the student activities coordinator at McKinley, said the Ambassadors program shows students how to have the “eyes” of a leader by bearing responsibility for the community and taking action where there are pockets of need.

The Canapes live at Kulana Hale, and Peter Canape said the students have had a positive effect on the seniors, who feel youthful again when interacting with the students and working with them on activities.

“When seniors get together it’s very depressing,” said Canape, a pastor.

The students held fundraisers to cover the costs of the senior prom, which included a lunch, a “tissue paper fashion show,” musical entertainment, a dance contest and a raffle game.

Carl Yonezawa, 92, who went to the prom with about 15 others from the Plaza at Pearl City, wore a tissue paper costume for the fashion show, but couldn’t recall his character in front of the audience.

“It’s really good,” he said about the event. “The program, the shows, the people.”

Melinda Young, 80, recalled how fellow residents at Kulana Hale were full of excitement about the upcoming prom.

“They are so adorable,” she said of the students. “They’re just really high-quality kids and nice.”

She said residents at the senior home plan their week around the student visits and enjoy meeting with them.

“It’s uplifting,” she said. “Seniors feel like they’ve touched something in their own past so it’s really helpful.”

Louneille Aljamani, 72, also a Kulana Hale resident, said the weekly visits also benefited the students, who gained a chance to connect with the older generation and receive some “grandma love.”

“They find out there’s all kinds of love and fun no matter what age,” she said.

In addition, she said she’s seen students who were once shy come out of their shells at the coaxing of elders and their sometimes silly antics.

For Leilani Ly, 17, who graduated from McKinley this year, the Lokahi project gave her the chance to develop a bond with kupuna that she didn’t have in her own family, and she recalled how the seniors cooked for students during their visits.

“They felt like our own grandparents,” Ly said. “We went there to serve them, but they wanted to serve us.”

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