Plainfield East’s 2023 Homecoming was a memorable night. This is especially true for seniors Marcos Barrera and Claudia Raz, homecoming king and queen winners.

“I was happy for it to be a good last homecoming for me personally. I ended with the good memory of winning homecoming king and queen with Claudia,” Barrera said.

The duo were not the only ones excited:

“I am so happy for them. They worked so hard to get their peers to vote for them. It was rewarding to see their hard work pay off,” said Isabel Rivecco, Assistant Student Council Sponsor.

Although ultimately, Barrera and Raz took the title of homecoming king and queen, everyone in the homecoming court was active in campaigning.

“I loved this year’s homecoming court, they were all so involved with homecoming. It was nice to see the court so active and represent different clubs and social groups within our school,” Rivecco said.

With such variety within the court, everyone had their reasons for running. Raz chose to run so she and Barrera could campaign as friends.

“I knew I wanted to run for a court, but I didn’t want to run for prom because I feel like that’s more for couples. Marcos and I wanted to run as friends, and I just thought it would be fun. I didn’t have a specific reason,” Raz said.

However, another reason Barrera and Raz ran was to create a valuable memory.

“I wanted to run with my best friend, Claudia Raz, because I thought it would be nice to have a long-lasting memory of high school together with my best friend,” Barrera said.

In the process of running, Raz’s sister, Christina Raz, was of help to the duo.

“My sister asked for QR codes. She knows a lot of people, and she made sure to talk to everybody about it. She didn’t have to do that, but she did it anyway. She was my biggest supporter,” Raz said.

There is also credit due to the Student Council for the memories of the dance.

“I would like students to remember that the Student Council works very hard to make this week memorable and possible,” Rivecco said. 

Overall, Raz and Barrera are grateful for their winning experience.

“We would like to thank you all for your love and support. The people have spoken. I want to show our gratitude,” Barrera said.