Q: Why did you decide to run for HOCO court? 

A: I wanted to be part of the experience cause I’ve heard being part of the court is super fun. You’re gonna go through high school once, and this is a one time opportunity, so I decided to just run for it, see how it goes. Winning was just part of the cherry on top because I was just in it to have fun and bond with other people who are interested in court and stuff like that. 

Q: How did you react when they announced you as HOCO king? 

A: I was actually really surprised. I mean, I knew that I had a decent chance. But you know, we had a lot of amazing people who were in court and everybody had a good chance to have a good shot. So, when I won, I was speechless. I didn’t know how to react to the audience. But I hugged my mom, and I just kind of walked over to Mrs. Finnesand. 

Q: What was the best part about being in the HOCO court?  

A: It was definitely just the total experience with everybody in court. I got to meet a lot of new people, I was able to just represent my sport and also to just bond with a lot of new people I’ve never seen before. And also, having the experience in that, the ability to do stuff that normal people who are going to HOCO can’t do, it was something that I thought was super fun. It was very exciting for me, just made homecoming a lot more fun. I looked forward to a lot more because of the things that the court offered. And so that was something that was a blast, and I loved it. 

Q: What do you think is your best trait or quality? 

A: I feel like I’m very optimistic. I’m never really super negative about anything. I see things in a good way, but that can sometimes backfire on me because whenever I get a bad grade or something on a test or quiz, I’m like, that’s alright and move forward from this. But then, I end up looking back at another regret, like how I was being a little bit too optimistic with such things.

Q: What has been the most valuable lesson you’ve learned in high school? 

A: Just got to spend time with your friends, like time flies by because I remember being a freshman just a couple of years ago. It really does go by fast, and I’ve learned to really value my time with my friends here at Seven Lakes. Because you know, within less than a year I’ll be in college and we’ll be splitting ways. And some people that I’ve known since elementary are about to go to college. It’s huge for a lot of seniors and it’s also something that allowed me to just kind of take everything a lot slower. And to not rush everything because I remember last year with my junior year, I kind of just went through every day with the mindset of just finishing the day. But this year I kind of want to finish every single day and every single week and pretty much just throughout this whole entire senior just take it slow, enjoy my time here at Seven Lakes because it’s gonna be over soon. 

Q: What is a lesson you would give to next year’s seniors? 

A: It’s really just valuing your time here in high school. You know, junior year is going to be pretty stressful. It’s your most stressful year with college and everything but it’s something that I feel like upcoming seniors next year, they need to value the high school events like the sporting events. I recommend going to those – those are super fun especially here with Spartan Crazies – they run a lot of crowd stuff and it’s amazing. And really just value your friends, people should appreciate their friends because you know, right now you may not think about it, but once graduation happens, it’s gonna be a bittersweet feeling because people that you have known since elementary where you were younger, you’re going to be leaving them for college. So for seniors, just enjoy high school the best you can. Just have fun throughout the process. 

Q: If you were able to go back to your freshman year, would you believe you won HOCO king? 

A: No, I would not. Because freshman year, obviously, I was friends with decent people. But I didn’t have the confidence in myself freshman year as I do now. Not in a cocky way. But a confidence in that I’m outgoing, and I’m able to make a lot of friends. In freshman year, I was an introvert, and I would walk the halls, not talk that much. Nowadays, I’ll be walking the halls, I’ll dap people up, sometimes I give people fist bumps that I barely know. And I think that’s a big part because I’m able to connect with a lot of new people and these new people kind of branch off into other people, which allowed me to kind of just get my name out there and just be able to dip my toes into communities of people that  I’ve never really met.