Awe and amazement disperse from the stands and sidelines as the crowd of attendees gaze into a sky full of fireworks. On Sept. 26, 2024, the Texas High School Student Council hosted the annual, renowned tradition of the presentation of court, pep rally at Tiger Stadium at Grim Park.
Despite the uneasy emotions that the girls on the court expressed, they remained appreciative of all the support and applause received from the attendees of the pep rally.
“I felt nervous walking out in front of everybody,” senior Matti Wiley said. “There were a lot of eyes on me, but it was very exciting. It felt very heartwarming and special and was a very special moment and I felt very appreciated to have been on court. Looking up at the stands and seeing my friends and family supporting me felt very special.”
Many senior girls look forward to the homecoming court experience throughout their entire high school career, making it an extremely special moment in their lives.
“This whole experience has been so surreal, looking up in the stands with everyone’s eyes on me made me feel like the star of a movie,” senior Aubrie Badgett said. “I’ve always looked forward to being able to experience homecoming as a senior but being on court makes the experience ten times more exciting. It’s such an honor to stand with this amazing group of girls.”
During the presentation of the court segment of this pep rally, many students, as well as the coordinator of the event, Student Council advisor Susan Waldrep, showed their appreciation and admiration for the accomplished group of girls on this year’s court.
“I think it’s a fabulous court, I really do,” Waldrep said. “They’re all nice girls. They volunteer and they’re active in a lot of things and I just think that’s a really important thing because they represent different aspects of the school.”
Students express their satisfaction with this year’s pep rally and commemorate all the different performances from different groups across the school.
“My favorite part of the pep rally was probably getting to see each different group perform,” junior Hayden Henry said. “I know they worked really hard and spent a lot of time practicing and I also enjoyed getting to spend time with other students.”
During the pep rally students performed numbers to the audience of attendees at this community event. While opinions varied, many students enjoyed having this opportunity and representation.
“I [loved] when we danced but I feel like we didn’t have much preparation for this,” junior Rebecca Coleman said. “You know, we still came together and did it and it might not have been the best, but that’s [okay].”
Performances aside, many members of the homecoming court and student body claim that the fireworks show to conclude the presentation and pep rally remains the highlight of their night.
“Watching the fireworks from a chair on court this year was definitely the moment that I most felt like a senior,” said senior Gracelyn Sims. “[I] was like wow this is our last year here as a student”
As far as the assembly of this traditional event goes, the entirety of both the student council and several other organizations across Texas High and the community, collaborated in preparation to make this pep rally possible.
“It takes a village to get this together,” Waldrep said. “TISD is a great group to have a party with because we have the people who do the sound and Mrs.Reynolds gets all the music together. We work with cheer and it’s just a huge partnership with a lot of people.”
