Every Step of the Way: The Homecoming Courts Parents Share Their Love for Their Child

Parents of the Homecoming Court share how they feel about their child being a part of the court, and how proud they are.

By: Beth Musto

Friday, September 19th, was Redwood’s Homecoming. Parents of the court got the chance to take pictures and share how they truly feel about their son or daughter being a part of this best tradition.

Virginia Diaz, the mother to Sophia Diaz, ’26, says that she was excited for her daughter. “I am so very excited. It was very unexpected, but so excited when I saw it, when I saw the live stream. 
I started crying. But very excited.” She says.

“I was surprised because she always wanted to do the Mrs. Ranger instead, but she’s like, Mom, I’m going to be part of it, and so, she’s like, let’s just go all in, and I’m just so very excited.” Ms. Diaz says.

The week of Homecoming, September 15th through the 19th, was an exciting and stressful week for everyone.

With staying up late, ordering last minute things for the dress up days, or just waiting for the winners to be announced.

Ms. Diaz says, “Stressful. Oh, my God, so stressful between trying to find her dress. We couldn’t find anything in store. We had to borrow something, but it worked out. 
Finding jewelry and shoes, making T-shirts. I’m very stressed, but also it’s a memory. I know she’ll have for the rest of her life, especially with the rain too. 
So she’ll never, ever forget it.”

Mary Pat Chavez, Dana Chavez’s, ’26, mother says that it was the biggest surprise to her. She says that she loves the inner beauty that her daughter has, “I love that her inner beauty just shines, and a lot of times Dana doesn’t see what we see, and so it was just really an honor for her class to recognize her. I was super excited for her. And it was totally unexpected.”

“We both yelled in the car, and we’re super happy. And, yeah, I mean, it’s just proud, proud parent moments. Like, our kid is at that point where she’s even to be considered the top ten. 
She’s got to be doing something right, character, integrity, you know, friendly, all the above.” Gabriel Chavez, who is the father to Dana, says about how they found out that their daughter was in the Homecoming Top 10.

The week was spent with sleepless nights, and catching up with what was posted on social media. Mrs. Chavez says that the week had been fun, and that she liked having social media to follow what was happening with the kids and the spirit week. She also says that it was fun having friends over, making T-shirts, and sticker. Sleepless but worth it.

Mr. Chavez says, “A little bit stressful, not knowing what to expect. Sometimes, we just fly by the seat of our pants, and we weren’t getting a lot of information, and she didn’t have the information. But everything kind of fell into place now, and I think we’re good, but just not knowing what our part was and all this, but now we’re all squared away.”

Sara Rawson, who is the mother to Weston Rawson, ‘26, says that she thinks that it’s really exciting and that she is happy for her son. 

“I just thought it was a really fun thing. He just, he’s so involved in school with sports and ASB, and he just, he loves people, and he’s just such a fun kid, so I just, I thought it was really good for him,” Mrs. Rawson says. 

The stress that comes with Homecoming week can easily fade away when seeing your child on social media, having fun with the rest of the Homecoming court. 

“For me, I haven’t really had to do much of anything. I’ve just been watching all the stuff that he’s doing. So the best part for me is getting to get on Instagram and see the Redwood page with all the pictures, all the, like, fun lunchtime activities and all the stuff they’re doing.” Mrs. Rawson says. 

Drik and Mendee Alfano, who are the parents of Dane Alfano, ‘26, says that they are both excited and proud that he is a part of the Top 10. 

Mr. Alfano says, “I’m super excited that he is, I’m proud that he was nominated. For him, he’s always playing sports and things like that. And due to injury, he was unable to participate in football, which he really loved to do. And it’s kind of nice that he maybe gets to participate in this in this way, out there tonight, during the game, and for a Homecoming nomination. So super proud of him,” 

“I think I kind of anticipated it would happen.
I don’t know. I just think he’s just a good kid, and nice to everybody, and I actually wasn’t super surprised. I was surprised when I found out he was even, like, in the top, you know, but when I found out he was top five, I was like, Yeah, I figured it was happening.” Mrs. Alfano says. 

Mrs. Alfano says that the week has been stressful. She says that everything has been last minute, and that she is grateful for Amazon Prime. 

Manny and Diana Sanchez, who are the parents of Luke Sanchez, ‘26, says that he is very proud of him that he was nominated by track. 

“He was nominated by Track, and then he made the top five.
You know, it’s a big accomplishment, you know, with Redwood being, not only the largest school in Visalia, but also the largest school in the county. And so to be nominated the top 5 by the student body is very rewarding for him. I know it’s rewarding for him, but I also know that it’s rewarding for us as parents.” Mr. Sanchez says. 

Mrs. Sanchez says that she was relieved about her son being in the a part of the top 10. She says, “Thank God, because I already bought the bracelets.”

“Yeah, my wife was already purchasing, you know, advertisement items before he was even nominated.
And they were non-returnable items.” Says Mr. Sanchez.

Mary and Garth Vorst, are the parents of Clare Vorst, and they both say that they are very excited for her. 

Mrs. Vorst says, “It’s an honor to have made it, you know, first [she was] nominated by Dance Force, and then to make Top Five. I’m just so excited for her to have this experience and have this memory for life,”

Mr. Vorst says that the week has been very busy for the family. He says that Clare is having all the fun this week and it’s been fun for them as well.

“So we were watching live because we were watching her perform for Dance Force, and so we got to stay alive and all of my, we worked all together, and so my whole family, we were all over in my office, and so we got to watch it live, and so we were, like, screaming at our office,“ Says Mrs. Vorst, about when the family found out about having their daughter be in the Top 10. 

Crystal Carranza, mother of Nathan Delgado, ‘26, says that her son is already a king. She also says that she is super happy for him and proud of him. 

When asked about her reaction when she found out the news of her son being a part of the Top five, Ms. Carranza says, “You are the king already. You go and get it. 
I just, and he got excited. It was just seeing his light, his face, he was just so happy about it. So yeah, I was so proud of him.” 

“I love him, and I’m proud of him, no matter if he wins or not. I know he’s got it, and I really look up to him, because he pushed himself to do what he likes to do and be successful.” Ms. Carranza says. 

Dena and Micheal Pinheiro, the parents of Elle Pinheiro, ‘26. Mrs. Pinheiro says that she is super proud for her daughter, “Really proud, you know, because she’s involved herself since, you know, her freshman year with choir, the musical, clubs, and all that. To see her grow into this [and to be] recognized by her peers is pretty cool.” 

“Yeah, I think it’s been cool, all the events. It’s been a week long thing. You know it’s not just today. 
And to me, I think it’s, you know, it’s cool that the school’s still kind of a full tradition to make it a whole week long celebration. So it’s been fun to see. Glad she’s part of it.” Mr. Pinheiro says. 

Talking about how they found out the their daughter was going to be a part of the Homecoming Court, Mrs. Pinheiro says, “Well, I was watching the rally on YouTube. So I was pretty excited. 
I yelled from my office. It was cool, so it was nice that I was not even there, but I, you know, I got to see her. You know, I was just happy for her, you know, the excitement, and the rally was insanely cool. 
So it was, they did a really good job, and it was fun to see it.” 

Mr. Pinheiro says that he was out traveling and he got word from the family group chat, and says how excited he is for her. 

“I mean, I think it’s been cool seeing every morning she comes out with a new outfit for the theme, so you kind of, like, wonder what’s gonna happen. And then at the end of the day, you see the videos or the pictures and you just see they’re all having fun. 
So it’s been cool to see.” Mr. Pinheiro says about how the week was like for them. 

Nicole Bueno, is the mother of Brooke Morales, ‘26. She says, “Really excited for her. She used to be really shy when she was younger, so it’s really been really neat watching her growth over the last 4 years and getting to see her feel confident enough to, you know, stand in front of all of her peers and, you know, present her club, such a public, like, facing club, too, Ranger TV, which is really neat to see her personal growth in all this.” 

Ms. Bueno also says that she watched the live stream while at a zoom work meeting. She says that she cheered for her daughter and it was really exciting. 

With Homecoming being another huge Redwood tradition, everyone can have fun during the week and everyone is doing something to be a part of the Ranger tradition. 

“I would say, you know, the festivities of homecoming, you know, are what make schools a special place. You know, when you have the commitment from the front office, to the athletic departments, to ASB, and you got photography involved, and you got all these different organizations involved to make homecoming special, not only for the students, but it’s also special to the staff. 
It’s special to the parents and the community. And so the fact that, you know, Dr. Gridiron and his team have embraced. that specialness of homecoming and having allowed it to, you know, really be the driver of the culture this week is amazing.” Says Mr. Sanchez. 

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