Disclaimer: One of the Prom Queen nominees, Miranda Cook, is a member of the 42fifty staff. She has not contributed to this article.
At the beginning of second period on April 22, the names of the 10 nominees for the 2023-24 Prom Court were announced over the intercom. The five male and five female students gathered in the main office to receive their sashes and take a photo together.
The nominations for Prom King were Declan Auton, Griffin Fowler, Valentino Thompson, Nathan Ortinau, and Nolan Petry.
The nominations for Prom Queen were Miranda Cook, Ava Taviani, Madelyn Zuerner, Marissa Moffett, and Ava Smith.
“It still doesn’t feel real, I’m super excited and grateful,” said Thompson. All members of the court expressed similar feelings of excitement and gratitude in light of their nominations.
The Prom Court is composed of OH seniors who show great involvement in the OH community and have big aspirations for their futures.
Auton participated in varsity football and wrestling this school year. After graduation, he will continue his academic career by attending Michigan State University.
As a board member, Fowler is involved in Believe It Or Not I Care (BIONIC). He also plays for the Wind Symphony. He plans to major in mechanical engineering at Iowa State next year.
Thompson served as a team captain for the varsity basketball team alongside his involvement in the Science National Honor Society, and Programming Club, and runs his own business. Next year, he plans to attend the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Ortinau plays Club Hockey outside of school and plans to continue his education at the University of Kentucky next year.
Petry played for the boy’s varsity basketball team and plans to study finance next year as a college freshman.
Cook is involved with several organizations at OH, including the National Honor Society (NHS), Quill and Scroll, varsity cheer, and 42Fifty. After graduation, she plans to major in Sports Media at the University of Nebraska.
Taviani is involved in NHS, the Oswego Technical Honor Society, and played for the girl’s varsity tennis team during their fall season. She will be majoring in elementary education next year at Illinois State University.
Zuerner participates in the Heroes Invested in Kindness Everyday (HIKE) program through BIONIC. She plans to attend Waubonsee Community College for her undergraduate education before ultimately attending law school.
Moffett currently plays on the varsity softball team. Next year, she will be attending Illinois State University while continuing to play softball.
Smith participated in varsity cheer during their fall season and intends to continue her cheerleading career as she majors in Psychology at North Central College.
“I’m happy, but the job’s not finished,” explained Auton. Many court nominees have created social media campaigns to support their efforts to win Prom royalty. Because each senior only gets one vote for King and one vote for Queen, this is the most efficient way they can push out their campaign and get votes from their peers.
According to the co-sponsors of the Junior Class Committee, Jennifer Keto and Jessica Kawulia, the nomination process for the Prom Court mirrors that of the Homecoming Court, utilizing the same scheduling and website.
Seniors received an email the previous week to place their top five choices for both king and queen. Following the court announcement, seniors received a second email to vote for Prom King and Prom Queen.
The King and Queen will be announced during the dance around 9 p.m. This year’s court is not only excited to find out the voting results, but also to enjoy their last dance as students.
My name is Natalie Raabe and I am a senior at Oswego High School. This is my second year as a member of the 42fifty team and I serve as a Managing Editor and the Features Section Leader. Additionally, I am a member of the BIONIC board, NHS, Best Buddies, SNHS, NEHS, Rho Kappa, and Mu Alpha Theta.
