HOCO Queen Reunion

By: Miavane Jackson and Victoria Finidori

Cy-Fair High School celebrated its 2022 Homecoming season by bringing back previous Homecoming Queens over the span of the past seven decades to be honored during the halftime presentation.

 

It all started from a simple text from 2019 Homecoming Queen Leslie Mendoza.  She reached out to Cy-Fair’s senior class coordinator, Lindsey Shanklin, and requested to invite back every Cy-Fair Homecoming Queen.

 

“I got the idea from pageants.” Mendoza said. “Witnessing the smiling faces of the previous winners as they re-lived the proud moments they were announced queen seemed so heartwarming.”

  

Shanklin shared the idea with the administration.  Everyone loved the idea and began to look deeper into it. That’s when the hunt began.

 

“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but it could truly be something great,” Shanklin said. “It was a task that spanned months.”

 

Admin looked through every yearbook from the first year all the way to the last, writing down every Homecoming queen in the books. Cy-Fair staff shared the idea on social media platforms and tried reaching out to every queen. Luckily, 40 queens responded and 25 made an appearance to the event on Friday night.

 

Once the time had come for halftime to begin all eyes were on the field. The audience was eager to find out who this year’s Homecoming queen would be, but instead got a pleasant surprise as the announcer welcomed the 1951 through 2021 Homecoming queens onto the field. 

 

“I was very nervous, but excited coming back,” 1951 Homecoming Queen, Shirley Black said.   “I loved everything about this.’’ 

 

Cameras were flashing from all directions as everyone tried capturing this special moment. The queens smiled and waved as they made their way across the field with flowers in their hands.

 

 “This event is awesome and I love the flowers they gave us, I will never forget this! ’’ 1960 Queen, Carroll Koteras Derrick said. 

 

Every one of those queens is a part of Cy-Fair history. They all have memories of different Cy-Fair eras, and traditions. 

 

“I feel amazing coming back,” Last year’s Homecoming Queen Skyla Scott said. “I missed the Bobcat spirit!  I was super grateful when I heard about this idea.’’

 

The event was a success, Cy-Fair faculty made sure this would be a night to remember. 

 

“It’s so awesome to see their smiling faces and to hear their stories,” Mendoza said. “I’m beyond blessed to be a part of such a tradition like this and be a part of Cy-Fair High School.” 

 

Not only did students find out the 2022-23 queen, students also got introduced to former winners from Cy-Fair during halftime.