Written by Alayna Arias, Staff Writer
On October 3rd, Poly students nominated ten lucky peers to participate in a competition to become the Homecoming King and Queen of the year.
Every October, Poly participates in homecoming as the first major event of the school year. This event is especially impactful in its ability to bring Poly students together. Two seniors, or a senior and occasionally a junior escort, are chosen to represent their club and join the running for king or queen positions. As around 30 clubs participate every year, students will consistently find diverse students in the running. After the homecoming dance the nominees get condensed down to just 10 (5 girls, 5 boys) in a school wide vote. Although the King and Queen will ultimately be taking home the victory, it’s nice to showcase all those in the top 10 and their experiences in HOCO court.
When asking the nominees how it felt to win top 10, Friday McCarter, the nominee representing Pep Squad, happily chimed in about how the whole situation is a very cool experience and how homecoming festivities are something she looks forward to every year. Many students would agree: preparation for the HOCO football game is a highlight of the experience. Clubs, ASB, and the nominees work very hard to build up the school morale for homecoming. Such activities include: clubs working hard setting up for their carnival booths, ASB hosting events to boost the excitement for the game, and the nominees participating in advertising and helping with their lipsync video and potential performance.
While interviewing the Link Crew nominee, Aiden Hamzeinejad, he talked about how it felt great to win top 10, and “how cool it was to finally walk out for top 5 after watching people [he] looked up to win in the past.” Many nominees agree with this notion, as clubs act as such a social part of the school, and thus people are bound to make friends who are outside their grade and classes. With making friends who are older, the admiration tends to follow. Junior club members tend to use this time to get excited for next year and strategize on how to do just as good as their older peers.
Mock Trial nominee, Jacob Brusca, brought up that when he had entered top 10 it was “the best feeling knowing that [he has] a community in the school that supports [him].” That’s what homecoming is all about, supporting each other and helping each other grow. Interviewing a couple members from Mock Trial and asking why they voted for Brusca, most answers highlighted his kindness. They didn’t only vote for him because of his status in the club but because he’s compassionate, kind, and someone they wanted to give the spotlight to. This isn’t just true for only Brusca. All of the nominees had people in the school rooting for them because of their kindness, beliefs, or what they hope to become in the world.
Unfortunately, not all nominees interviews were mentioned here, but in no way is there a nominee who didn’t have a heart warming story about their experience this year. Homecoming gives everyone a chance to shine and take the spotlight. Poly continues to congratulate everyone who had the honor of serving as nominee this year with the chance at becoming HOCO King or Queen!