Amongst the list of American high school’s long-standing traditions, there comes a time around the start of spring when certain students run, or rather are nominated, to represent the school’s Prom Royalty.

With Junior Prom having occurred on April 6, Oakmont High School previously announced the official nominees for Royalty, polls being opened for the voting process by fellow students.

The following students were previously in the running for the crowns: Abby Tucker, Emilyn Batres Vasquez, Jett Honaker, Aiden Hamel, Maria Ramirez, and Maya Tapia.

With each student holding their own set of favorable qualities that would have deemed them a great Prom King/Queen, it was hard to vote for the best one.

Let’s take a look at some of Oakmont’s past 2024 Junior Prom Nominees. 

Emilyn Batres Vasquez:

The first nominee, Emilyn Batres, was mainly excited to have run for Prom Queen, because the idea has always been engraved in her childhood, making just being nominated a special experience.

“I would feel really happy winning prom queen because I have always wanted to win Prom Queen when I was younger,” Batres said. “It was a reason as to why I was excited to be in high school.”

Being a firm believer in treating others with kindness, Batres believes that her social and nice personality makes her a good candidate.

Aiden Hamel:

Although Hamel laughed his nomination off as a newfound “dream coming true,” his real fondness of being a nominee is the ability for him to represent the common man, as Hamel is a current player on Oakmont’s lacrosse team. 

“I think you should vote for me because I represent the common man,” Hamel said. “I’m a good candidate and it’s time for a change… we need two kings this year.”

Mentioned above, Hamel also hoped to win prom king with one of his best friends, Jett Honaker, as it would be a change to the traditional crowning process.

Jett Honaker:

Previously running with Hamel, Honaker emphasized that while being nominated was a surprise, he did tell friends to nominate him as it was just something to do for fun.

“I told some friends to nominate me and here we are,” Honaker said. “It would be pretty cool to win Prom King… if me and Aiden won we could have two kings.”

Although Honaker would have found winning Prom King a cool experience, he was overall just excited for Prom, and to have fun with all his friends. 

Abby Tucker:

Being an active spirit week participant, junior Abby Tucker finds this time of the year super enjoyable, as she has gotten to know a lot of cool people, and just been involved in the spirit challenges. 

Tucker ultimately decided to run for fun, with the exceptional prize of earning a free ticket paid for at the end of it.

“I decided to run for fun… and I hadn’t considered being able to win,” Tucker said. “I was excited to walk out at the rally… and to maybe get my ticket paid for.

Even though the entirety of Oakmont’s past prom royalty wasn’t highlighted, there is no doubt this group of selected students would have all made an exceptional prom king/queen. 

Spoiler:

Congratulations to this year’s royalty, with Aiden Hamel winning King, and Abby Tucker winning Queen.