On October 11, 2013 at half time of the football game, Colonia High School held its annual homecoming ceremony to announce the King and Queen for the class of 2014. Britni Strittmatter and Jacob Ulasevich were crowned by the former King and Queen.
Organized my Mrs. Meade and the Student Council Advisors, each member of the court was escorted on to the field by a parent. The presentation of the court to the large crowd highlighted the student’s involvement in sports and clubs.
Strittmatter was asked to describe what it felt like to win Homecoming queen. “It was definitely the most thrilling moment of my life. There were no and still are no words that I can use to describe the euphoria that I am overcome with.”
Making it to the final court is a tedious process. Senior students were given the opportunity to go on to the school eboard and vote for their choice of five girls and five guys to be in the running for Homecoming King or Queen. From the popular vote, ten girls and ten guys were chosen to be in the Top 20.
In order for students to make it to the next step they were required to write an essay about their favorite experience in high school. One of the Top 20 nominees, Matt Depola talked about his favorite memory: “I wrote about volunteering at numerous events such as The Senior Citizen Prom. This was because it was an amazing feeling knowing how easily I could make other people so happy.”
This essay’s purpose allowed the contestant to identify what types of activities the students were involved with. Carly Ciccone, a Top 20 nominee wrote about how she was a very active individual throughout her high school career. She reminisced on her first cross country meet and how she finally got to complete a 5K.
After the students write their essay the responsibility is then handed over to the teachers, who then get to choose who they believe deserves this honor. Teachers were sent an email and had to choose from the Top 20 list which girl and guy they believed should go further in the contest. Teachers were just given the names of the Top 20 and not any information about them. Their vote was based primarily on how well they know the nominees.
In high school, many believe that popularity has a very large influence. However, when approached about the subject of popularity and Homecoming, senior Josh Brindley stated, “Popularity may help but I really think the winner is someone who has had a large influence on the school, popular or not popular.” Nominees for Homecoming believe that you are chosen not because you are popular but for how well you represent yourself to your fellow classmates.
The nominees for Homecoming King and Queen explained that they take pride in being nominated. The students feel appreciated by their classmates and that all their hard work has paid off. As said by a Top 20 nominee, Victoria Martinez, “It feels amazing and honoring knowing all these people like me enough to take the time to vote for me.”
