Cy-Fair HS Honors Rich History with Homecoming Queen Reunion
By Miavane Jackson and Victoria Finidori, Cy-Fair HS
Oct. 20, 2022—Cy-Fair High School students, staff, alumni and supporters celebrated the school’s 2022 homecoming by inviting back previous homecoming queens over the span of the past seven decades to be honored during the football game’s halftime presentation.
It all started from a simple text message from 2019 homecoming queen Leslie Mendoza. She reached out to Lindsey Shanklin, Cy-Fair’s senior class coordinator, and requested to invite back every queen.
“I got the idea from pageants,” Mendoza said. “Witnessing the smiling faces of the previous winners as they re-lived the proud moments when they were announced queen seemed so heartwarming.”
Shanklin shared the idea with school administration, which went over well. That’s when the hunt began.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but it could truly be something great,” Shanklin said. “It was a task that spanned months.”
School staff members looked through every yearbook from the first year all the way to the last, compiling a list of every homecoming queen in the books. They also shared the idea on social media platforms in hopes of reaching out to every queen.
Twenty-five former Cy-Fair High School homecoming queens were honored during a special presentation on Sept. 20 during the school’s 2022 homecoming ceremony. The reunion included queens as far back as 1951 winner Shirley Payne and as recent as 2021 winner Skyla Scott. With all eyes were on the field during the halftime presentation, the Cy-Fair faithful were eager to find out who this year's homecoming queen would be. But instead, those in attendance received a pleasant surprise as the announcer welcomed the homecoming queens from 1951-2021 onto the field.
Homecoming queens who attended the reunion were Shirley Black Payne (1951), Norma Crenshaw Hillegeist (1954), Frances Rambin Hendrick (1957), Carroll Koteras Derrick (1960), Sharon Genz White (1964), Patty Willbern Echevarria (1971), Valerie Valenta Prater (1973), Deidre Dickinson Arthur (1977), Becky Reder Best (1979), Karen Miller Remington (1980), Gill Galloway Davis (1982), Gayla Head Bowden (1983), Catherine Jasper (1987), Ashley Pustejovsky Evans (1998), Arley Pustejovsky Kocher (2000), Jennifer Henrichsen Brown (2001), Lindsey Bradshaw Massie (2002), Shannon Jones (2003), Samantha Crosby Krantz (2004), Kyler Wyatt (2015), Angelica Aulbaugh (2017), Bryn Carden (2018), Leslie Mendoza (2019), Callie Carlyle (2020) and Skyla Scott (2021).
“I was very nervous, but excited coming back,” said Shirley Black, Cy-Fair’s 1951 homecoming queen. “I loved everything about this.”
Camera flashes were popping from all directions as everyone tried capturing the special moment. The queens smiled and waved as each made her way across the field with flowers in hand.
They then welcomed then newest member to their exclusive group as senior Isabella Hernandez was named the 2022 queen.
“This event is awesome and I love the flowers they gave us,” Koteras said. “I will never forget this.”
Cy-Fair High School 1957 homecoming queen Frances Hendrick was among 25 former queens who attended a special reunion during the school’s homecoming game Sept. 30. Representatives from every decade dating back to the 1950s were present. “The teachers that influenced her in such positive ways, her friends and the opportunities she had there were great,” Byrd said.
Each homecoming queen is part of the school’s history. Despite different memories throughout the different Cy-Fair High School eras and traditions, they are all tied together as Bobcats.
“I feel amazing coming back,” last year's homecoming queen, Skyla Scott said. “I missed the Bobcat spirit. I was super grateful when I heard about this idea.”
Added Mendoza: “It's so awesome to see their smiling faces and to hear their stories. I'm beyond blessed to be a part of such a tradition like this and be a part of Cy-Fair High School.”
