For MVHS guidance counselor and Class of ‘09 alum Ashley Voigt, some of her most palpable memories from high school are centered around Homecoming, especially the Homecoming dance. Voigt says during her time in high school, attending the dance with a date was more common than not. This led to the unfolding of a relationship with her then high school boyfriend — now husband.
“I married my high school sweetheart,” Voigt said. “And the first time I ever realized we were more than friends was when he asked me to Homecoming sophomore year, so Homecoming is special to me.”
As a freshman, Voigt recalls being enthralled by the decorated events and high spirit of Homecoming. While class skits were not yet a part of Homecoming, Voigt says the week was abundant in festivities and traditions, including elaborate Homecoming floats created by each class to parade with during the football game and a role-swap football game where girls played a flag football game against one another. The football team would coach the teams and cheer on the sidelines during the game using cheers they learned from the cheerleaders. Voigt says she particularly has fond memories of the rallies, where spirit and camaraderie were highest.
“When I go to the rallies now it just really brings me back,” Voigt said. “Maybe my class just really got into rallies but back then it was like, ‘You're going to the rally and you're going to show as much spirit as you can.’ When I think back to high school, I would say rallies were definitely something that I personally loved and really helped me feel connected to not just MVHS, but the Class of 2009 and our advisors.”
When Voigt now attends or chaperones Homecoming events at MVHS, she notices a decline in participation, specifically for the rallies. She says it may be potentially due to students opting out to focus on academics or simply declining enrollment. However, regardless of turnout, Voigt feels Homecoming provides a space for students to let loose from the typical academic environment.
“The purpose of it, the community building, the activities and getting to root for your class is still there, and that’s the most important part of it,” Voigt said. “What I think of during the rallies is I hope that these are memorable events for current students and that they just feel that spirit. I think that it's really important, outside of all the academics and everything else at MVHS, to just have that no-pressure fun. These are memorable events during high school that are not about the academics that you can really hold on to later in life.”
