As rain downpours from the sky, North Penn students, staff, and families stand in awe waiting to see who will be crowned as the 2023 Homecoming King and Queen. 14 court members’ hearts race as the bright lights of Crawford stadium shine down on them and highlight their every move: a voice comes over the loudspeaker and the crowd roars.
On Friday, October 6th, seniors Alyssa Blank and Connor Adams were crowned this year’s homecoming King and Queen. While Blank and Adams wore their crowns and smiles proudly, they stood facing the student body they now represent.
“Originally, I wasn’t running, but my friends nominated me for the court even though I told them I didn’t want to. I was nervous I wouldn’t get anywhere,” Blank explained. “I ended up getting past the first round, so I continued, but I wasn’t campaigning for myself because I thought a lot of other people wanted it more than I did.”
Adams, on the other hand, has been dreaming of this day since childhood.
When I was younger, I remember watching all the Disney movies where the football players would run for homecoming and I thought ‘That would be so fire’. — Connor Adams
In a school as big as North Penn, it isn’t common for every student to be best friends with each other; some students on the homecoming court had never even spoken to each other before that week.
“It was super cool talking to everyone, I thought it was going to be this mean rivalry where everyone hated each other but everyone was nice and I made a lot of new friends,” Adams shared.
“It was just such a community and I enjoyed participating in all the events they had,” Blank said. “When we first met each other, everyone was just so sweet. We all took pictures together and everyone was so happy to be there, complimenting each other, and just having a good time.”
This diverse community of 14 students slowly became a family, spending their days together laughing and supporting one another. The school organized events such as an assembly, a pep rally, and even a breakfast for the members of the court to get students excited for their big night.
“The pep rally was so fun and the breakfast was so cool. We all practiced for the pep rally together and we all cheered each other on and were always there for each other. It was a nice community of friends that I made,” Blank remarked.
“I knew that during the week if I wanted to win, I had to go all out for spirit week. I wore the most blasphemous outfits possible, which caused a lot of looks. Looks are publicity and all publicity is good publicity,” Adams admitted.
North Penn students will probably always remember the names of Blank and Adams as they blared through the speakers of the stadium and the bleachers rattled beneath their jumping feet, but the names they may not know are the motivators that helped this dream become a reality.
“My parents were behind me like 24/7, my dad was right on it immediately. The whole football team was behind me. My nickname is The Champ so everyone would pass me in the halls and say “Make The Champ the King” which was pretty cool,” Adams stated.
“My friends were supportive and happy for me, they always took pictures of me in my sash. The other people running were all so supportive, we would help each other through the nerves,” Blank shared. “My mom invited my whole family to the game; I thought it was gonna be so embarrassing if everyone was there and I didn’t even place.”
In the moment, winning Homecoming King and Queen can bring on a storm of emotions, differing for every young man or woman who has been up there since the start of this lasting tradition.
I almost started crying when I walked down because it felt so surreal. There were a million kids screaming at me and I knew everyone was watching me. — Alyssa Blank
“My legs were shaking and then they called my name and I didn’t know what to do with my hands. I just kind of started robot-walking because I didn’t really understand what was happening, I just walked up there. I was really excited and I felt like I couldn’t breathe,” Adams said.
Blank and Adams will continue to represent the North Penn student body until the 2024 Homecoming King and Queen are crowned and this magical night gets to happen once again.
“So many people made me feel like they wanted me to be in that role and it made me feel really special,” Blank expressed.
“What really stuck with me was when we were getting ready before the assembly everyone was helping pin their things and fix their ties, I thought “Man, this is pretty nice.” I just wanted to savor the moment,” Adams shared.