Free Falling Into Prom

Jumping out of a plane at 13,000 feet, Aubrey Ramsdell was coasting to the ground. She wondered why she was the last to jump and why she didn’t get to jump right after her boyfriend.

But this was her first skydiving experience and it was such a rush of excitement, she didn’t think too much about her questions.  Once she was almost on the ground, she saw the sign.

Ramsdell’s boyfriend, Thomas Wobby, had made a sign asking her to Neuqua Valley High School’s prom, which is Friday night at Drury Lane in Oak Brook. Wobby planned the whole experience just to make the event, which was a celebration of their 18^th birthdays, even more memorable.

“I was really confused,” she said. “I saw [the sign] and was wondering who it was for. I thought it was for another couple. I had so many thoughts. I knew there were no other teens on the plane; they were all adults. … It was very surprising.”

Since it was the first skydiving experience for Wobby and Ramsdell, they both made tandem jumps. Ramsdell said that as she got closer to the ground, her guide started to rotate and when she was about 100 to 150 feet off the ground, the sign came into view.

“I knew he was going to ask me, because it’s always a big deal for people,” she said. “If you are dating, it is an even bigger deal. He hinted he was going to ask when it’s nice out, but he said ‘it has to be nice out.’”

Wobby said that he was going to go skydiving for his 18^th birthday and he was bringing Ramsdell along. The couple was supposed to go skydiving in March, when they both turned 18, but the first attempt was rained out. They went again April 9.

“I was juggling a couple ideas in my mind and thought it would be awesome,” Wobby said. “She is creative and always doing nice things for me, so I thought I would do something creative and nice for her.  … When she landed she was like ‘Oh my god, and this is cute.’ It was nice.”

 At Neuqua Valley, only seniors are allowed to attend prom because of the size of the student body, Wobby said.

“Prom is huge here,” he said, adding that there are lots of opportunities to attend homecoming and turnabout, but “there is only one prom and only seniors can go, so it’s a huge deal.”

Wobby said the staff at Skydive Chicago helped him pull off his plan. Everyone knew, except Ramsdell.

Veronica Wall, manifest director at Skydive Chicago, was there the day the couple took the leap.

"I know that she didn’t have any idea at all. They just wanted to make the skydive together," Wall said.

It is not uncommon for people to make it a memorable experience, she said. Often it is tied to a special occassion, such as an anniversary or a birthday.

"A lot of people think of this as an experience that they will only do once, so they try to use it with something else they will only do one time," she said.

The staff at Skydive Chicago helped Wobby out, keeping his sign in the office and then holding it out at the landing area, Wall said.

"It was cute, real cute," she said.

Wall said Ramsdell was definitely surprised.

"It’s hard for someone even to talk about the question at hand because the skydive itself is overloading, overwhelming," Wall said. "... I would imagine it would be a lot to take in.”

After the jump and while they were waiting to get their video, Wobby took Ramsdell to his car where he had a bouquet of flowers waiting.

“I just thought it was really cute and I was very proud of him that he figured that all out,” Ramsdell said. “He is pretty creative when it comes to dance stuff. I wouldn’t have cared either way. … I knew I was going to go but he hadn’t made it official.”

Ramsdell said next fall she will be studying fashion design in San Diego, while Wobby said he will be attending Colgate University in upstate New York.

“It was fun and it’s always going to be something I will remember,” Wobby said. “I don’t think I will ever go skydiving again. I only get to ask a girl to prom once. I think this was a fun way.”