As Homecoming week continues, various important events roll around. Some of the most notable include Pep Rally, the Homecoming parade, and School dress-up days. But the voting for Homecoming King and Queen holds more significance and magnitude than anything else.
From Tuesday Sept. 30, to Wednesday, Oct. 1, Mount Vernon students have the opportunity to support their favorite candidate at voting ballots during their lunch hours. The homecoming court of 2025 is made up of 10 seniors who were nominated by their classmates.
Nathan Conrad takes important roles in the school’s orchestra, band, and speech team. In his own time, he likes to give back to his community, having volunteered at Church Camp over the summer. His advice for underclassmen is, “Go out and try new things, you gotta get a little uncomfy to get comfy. And stay curious,” and Conrad’s plans for late in life involve attending Iowa State University for engineering.
William Goodlove has found success in football, wrestling and golf. Outside of school, he is a volunteer fire fighter, where he enjoys meeting and helping people. Goodlove wants to enlist in the Air National Guard for fire fighting or play football at an in-state college and his advice for Mount Vernon underclassmen is, “Everyone has a plan made for them in life. Trust in the plan that was made for you.”
Charles Weldon participates in the school’s theater program, band and choir, in which he even has the prestigious role of choir officer. One of his favorite hobbies is playing tennis with family members. Weldon hopes to study music at a four year university, and his tip for younger students is, “Try a bunch of activities, even if you don’t know if you will like it or be good at it you might surprise yourself.”
Landon Wilson enjoys playing and being part of the basketball, football, and baseball teams at Mount Vernon. Away from school though, Wilson spends lots of time with his family, even working with his mother at The Local, an in-town beverage and miscellaneous item shop. He intends to soon major in mechanical engineering at the University of Iowa, and he advises that underclassmen “Try to make the most of each experience and don’t be afraid to feel uncomfortable when trying something new or different.”
Kevin Zehms is a longtime member of the marching band and speech team, where he brings important leadership and guidance. Zehms is also known to be a passionate sandwich maker at the local Subway and tries to create a fun environment in the restaurant. His best pointer for newer high school students is, ”Live every moment even when undesirable, you can always find good in bad, worse, and evil,” and he is planning on going to college in the future.
Taylor Franck is involved in track and field, basketball, and FCA this year. She plays AAU basketball, volunteers and youth basketball camps, and attends youth group at her church outside of school. Franck is going to play basketball and study nursing at the University of Northern Iowa and she advises underclassmen to “Stay true to who you are, work hard, and trust the process.”
Grace Hale tries to lead by example in FCA, choir, speech and track and field. She leads a small youth group for her church, saying she loves to see her group grow up and go through the same struggles that she did. Hale wants to attend college to study the bible and earn a degree in communications or education. Her piece of advice for the younger generation is, “Start conversations, go out of your way to be kind to people, do the difficult stuff (even & especially when you don’t want to).”
Isabelle Logue partakes in volleyball, soccer, softball, and choir for Mount Vernon. She is a part of the Veritas Church, pet sits, baby sits, and has even given volleyball lessons in her time outside of school. Logue wants to play volleyball and study civil engineering at college and her advice to underclassmen, from Mathew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Kiersten Swart had been a State contender for cross country, track and field, and wrestling. She enjoys helping younger children deepen their faith by teaching Sunday school. Additionally, Swart works at the Big Apple Orchard. Her advice for underclassmen is, “Find joy in everything that you do, make friends, have fun, and get involved,” and her plans for after high school are to attain a bachelor’s degree from a university.
Emma Hoffman performs in choir, jazz choir, theater, speech, volleyball, soccer, and FCA. In her own time, Hoffman volunteers at her church and fosters animals before their adoption for the Cedar Valley Humane Society. She plans to double major in Economics and psychology or international relations at a four year university. Hoffman’s advice is, “A small act of kindness can make a large impact because when someone has done that for me on my harder days, it really helps pick me up.”
The Homecoming coronation will be held close to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 2, at the MAC directly after the homecoming parade.
