Educational partnership helps students get ready for prom night

TAMPA (FOX 13) - It's prom night and there's no doubt students from Pepin Academies will be ready. 

"I am super excited. I get to see all my friends. We get to take all these pictures together looking so amazing!" said senior Julia Moss. 

The salon was abuzz at Erwin Technical College Friday. 

Cosmetology majors, like Ashley Cobb, primped and pampered more than a dozen Pepin graduating seniors ahead of their special night. 

"I love doing hair and doing her makeup," said Cobb. "Getting to put a smile on someone's face is like, the best thing in the world." 

This day also holds a lot of importance for Erwin students. 

"We never really get to do things like this," Cobb explained. "It kind of prepares us for the real world. It shows an act of kindness and it's good to do these kinds of things for the kids because they may never get to do anything like this."

Students at Pepin Academies have disabilities related to learning. For them, today wasn't just about getting glammed-up. It was also about gaining insight into what they could potentially do after graduation. 

"They're not limited to their disabilities," said Pepin Academies spokeswoman Daviera Powell. "They can come to a school like Erwin, learn a technical trade and be very successful at it and do something that they love to do."

Meanwhile, these seniors are loving how they feel ahead of one of the biggest nights of their lives. 

"It makes me feel pretty in a way, that somebody would take the time out of their day to do my makeup, or to do my hair," said Moss. "It's amazing." 

"It feels good to, you know, be there for somebody because I didn't have anybody when I needed to go to the prom," added Cobb. "It feels good to do this." 

Pepin Academies and Erwin Technical College hope to continue this partnership for years to come.