All of the Homecoming court stands in the center of the field while the crowd stares and screams for the competitors. Feeling excitement and the heart beating faster and faster every second that goes by, the court waits in anticipation as the crown is passed over each of their heads, one by one, before landing on the winner’s.

Homecoming queen: a high school senior tradition that started in the early 1900s. One may ask, ‘what is Homecoming?’ Homecoming consists of a dance, along with spirit week, where students dress up according to the day. At West Chicago Community High School, the festivities include a parade, pep assembly, at which the Homecoming queen and king get crowned, and football game.

“It was fun! The Homecoming parade was a great time and it was fun seeing my middle school teachers reactions of me in the Homecoming court car,” former queen Anna Lesny (‘23) said.

In the past, only one vote took place to determine both the king and queen nominees, as well as victors. However, this year, Pep Club, who organizes the Homecoming court, agreed to two votes: one to determine the nominees, and a second to decide the winners.

“I felt great about it! I think it went super well and people had fun with it. I think in the future we can find ways to incorporate the underclassmen or make the voting process a little more smooth, but all in all it is just supposed to be a fun activity for Homecoming week!” Pep Club adviser Elizabeth Mastroianni said.

Those looking for a crown next year may want to consider a few tips…

• First step (and most important step): do not be scared to run for Homecoming queen. In my experience, I was not planning on running for queen. All I remember was that in the period before voting nominations, I heard about the opportunity. All I did was to post a picture of myself and my uncle’s horse with the caption “Vote me for Homecoming queen” without thinking much of the idea.

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  Second step: surround yourself with supportive friends (or just supportive people in general). Having a strong support system is really important because as long as friends are willing to help campaign, it will make the run for Homecoming queen even easier. One of the key components in the voting process is just getting other people to know who is in the running for Homecoming queen. For me, having good friends – and even just acquaintances – who supported me was a good thing because it made me feel less nervous to run.

• Third step: once (hopefully) selected for the Homecoming court, know that the other girls who are running as well ARE NOT the competition. One thing for sure is that it seems like girls tend to feel threatened by others who are running for something like Homecoming or Prom queen. It is very important to stay mature – even if others seem like they have something against a particular candidate. No one likes the girl who looks bad and immature while trying to hate on the rest of the nominees over a senior tradition because the truth is, winning or not does not define anyone: it is just the experience that counts, so do not be that girl who takes the “competition” to heart.

“Sometimes, I have had people express their feelings about nominations and court, but I just tell them that it is just for fun and memories and that it should be an enjoyable thing. I remember being in high school and it being a fun thing, so I just try to make it an enjoyable experience for all,” Mastroianni said.

Whether a particular candidate wins or not does not actually mean anything – know that in a year, no one will remember or shame a girl for not winning. It takes a lot of courage to run for Homecoming queen, and those who do are taking a step that someone maybe is afraid to do. Just live the experience and be very thankful for those who push them through it. 

 “A piece of advice I would give is to have fun and don’t worry about it. If you don’t win, it’s really not too big of a deal,” Lesny said.