On Oct. 18, the Class of 2020 took on their last Homecoming Court of their high school experience. There were eight senior Homecoming Court nominations: Armond Bigler, Niko Gustafson, Manish Malempati, Anna Kolesov, Trudie Ngo, Robie Ann Acot and Brett Park. The Homecoming ceremony began during halftime of the Homecoming football game, and each of the nominees walked with a teacher of their choice to the podium while someone announced their introduction from the loudspeaker. View the photo gallery below to see the reactions and emotions of the Class of 2020’s Homecoming Court:
Senior Class president Armond Bigler walks down the track with engineering teacher Shinta. Photo by Jai Uparkar
Senior Niko Gustafson walks arm in arm with former MVHS Spanish teacher Richelle Griffin. “I wanted to walk with Señora Griffin because she’s like my mom away from home,” Gustafson said. “I basically lived in her room last year and even the year before that. She’s really great to talk to — she always gives great advice [and] whenever I’m stressed out, I’ll always complain to her and tell her what’s going on and what’s on my mind. She always knows what to say. She’s a fantastic teacher.” Photo by Tabitha Mendez
Senior Anna Kolesov smiles at the crowd in the bleachers while linking arms with her former calculus teacher, Martin Jennings. “I was really shocked that [I was nominated] because I grew up watching all the movies about highschool and how there was a homecoming king and queen. I never thought that I would be on Court,” Kolesov said. “But I was surprised and it was really, really cool.” Photo by Tabitha Mendez
Senior Brett Park and english teacher Sara Borelli acted out, or hit, ‘The Woah,’ a trendy dance move popularized by TikTok. Photo by Tabitha Mendez
Senior Evan Yu laughed at leadership advisor Jenna Smith’s comment as they made their way to the podium. They also hip bumped into the air, which received cheers from the crowd. Photo by Tabitha Mendez
Senior Manish Malempati talks to all of the Homecoming Court seniors before walking to the podium. Photo by Tabitha Mendez
Borelli points to Park as he "royally" waves to the crowd cheering him on. “When I had [Borelli as a teacher]… I would always go in at brunch or lunch and ask for extra advice or just have conversations for her,” Park said. “I felt like she was the most personable of my teachers. I could open up to her the most, so I thought I had a real connection with her.” Photo by Tabitha Mendez
Senior Trudie Ngo smiles as she begins her walk with biology teacher Renee Fallon towards the podium. “When I was a junior, [Fallon] really helped me grow personally and I wanted to celebrate that with her,” Ngo said. “Homecoming Court felt like something she should be a part of too. I think it’s [Homecoming Court] a cool way to celebrate a bunch of students for who they are, and I feel like she’s a big part of making [me] who I am.” Photo by Tabitha Mendez
Senior Robie Ann Acot looks at her classmates in disbelief as they announce her as Homecoming Royalty. “When I got that crown, I felt proud of myself, not for the crown itself, but what it represented. To me, it represented how far I’ve come because I was so different before,” Acot said. “Being homecoming queen was a really nice touch to everything, but for me it was the validation of the connections [that I had] made really mattered to people, even today.” Photo by Tabitha Mendez