Senior Kennedi Wright- Conklin stood on the football field with a gleaming smile, her dress sparkling under the stadium lights.

Senior varsity cornerback Ivan Hollins’ team was up 28-0 at halftime. He was in the locker room when the announcement was made.

“I was really surprised,” said Wright-Conklin. “All of this I wasn’t really expecting so I was really excited. [It’s] cool that a lot of people voted for me to win homecoming queen, so that was nice to know. But I was really surprised. I was not expecting it at all.”

Both candidates were excited for the win, which was especially comforting after experiencing severe losses.

Wright-Conklin’s brother, Reece Wright-Conklin, died in a motorcycle accident last month. Many of her family and friends came to the game to support her.

“It’s another positive thing in my life because it [the loss] was really hard,” she said. “Of course I had the thought of, ‘I wish my brother had been there’ because that would be a positive thing that my whole family experienced with me.”

From dress shopping to spending time with fellow candidates, Wright-Conklin was able to connect with her friends and family through her homecoming experience.

“My mom and sister have been there for me, and it was a nice bonding experience,” Wright Conklin said. “That was really fun. Now that I’ve won, my friends call me queen and they all bow down to me. It’s really annoying, but they think it’s funny. They’ve been supportive.”

Wright-Conklin’s friends have provided her with a support system to help her through the loss of her brother, she said.

“When it first happened, we just wanted to be there for her and try to keep her mind off of it and pretty much do anything she needed us to do to help her,” senior Lauren Schulteis, Wright-Conklin’s friend, said.

Hollins also faced loss this year. In April, his mother, Schnette Hollins died of liver cancer. Being a homecoming candidate provided Hollins some relief from the stress of the loss.

“I’d say it felt good,” Hollins said. “It took me a while until it hit me…at the dance and I’d say it was a good stress reliever.”

Hollins also established strong relationships with other candidates on court.

“I’ll always remember that [homecoming] because you got to get close to all of the kids and know them better,” he said. “It was a really cool experience, like going out to lunch and hanging out. Like I said, you just get really close to them and know them a lot better.”

Friends of the candidates were happy to see Hollins and Wright-Conklin honored as king and queen.

“It was really good to see both, two of my best friends in the school, get the recognition they deserve,” senior Anthony Harvey said. “They’re both good kids and…you know even through tragedy, they smile. They’re strong people. They’re probably the two of the strongest people I know…and I’m proud of them.”