Senior Banquet Follow-Up

The Senior Banquet is an event made to bring the seniors together. For the class of 2025, this event took place at the Ten Oaks Ballroom in Clarksville. The place was a semi-formal dinner with a buffet. The event congratulated the seniors of James Hubert Blake High School and served as a memorable precursor to prom and such celebrations.

The decorations, upscale and elegant, included dim flower lights, origami napkins, balloons, and more. A slideshow with student photos playing throughout the night was presented in front of the ballroom. 

A student mentioned that chatting “with [their] friends, [taking] pictures for memories, and [dancing]” was their favorite part of the whole event.

Paul Zulueta noted, “My favorite part of the Senior Banquet was the presentation of the Senior Awards.”

The banquet brought a clean and busy atmosphere that people enjoyed. The DJ played music for the entire event as students danced to a variety of popular songs. The outfits were mostly formal and focused more on cleanliness and style.

Another student stated, “The music was awesome. The DJ managed to play many of our requests.”

The dinner for the Senior Banquet was met with mostly positive reviews. The food choices consisted of salads, Hawaiian sweet bread, chicken parm, alfredo, and cupcakes, with drinks such as sweet tea, fruit punch, and more. Some enjoyed the selection of foods but others believed the food was simply alright at best. 

Zulueta stated, “The food was delicious. The penne alfredo and chicken parmesan was tasty, and the drink options were appropriate. The cupcakes were the perfect desserts for each of us.”

Elicia Gomez said, “AMAZING!!! Wish I had brought a container with me to bring some food home. Although, my food got taken away twice when I wasn’t finished eating and only away from my table for a moment. Kinda got upset about that.”

Imani mentioned, “I loved the mashed potatoes. I’d shave off my Locs for more.”

Additionally, a celebration of the achievements of the Class of ‘25 was presented at the front of the banquet. These included 290 seniors who applied for colleges, one National Merit Finalist, two Posse scholarship winners, one Banneker/Key semifinalist at UMD, two Maryland All State Senior Jazz Ensemble, two Maryland All State Senior Honor Band, one WVU Drumline student, six Lacrosse commitments, five football commitments, one swim commitment, one track & field commitment, 60+ students with the Seal of Biliteracy, and many more awards and recognitions. Also at the event, winners of the senior superlatives were celebrated and given crowns.

Isaiah Raphael-Daley, superlative winner, said his favorite part of high school was getting “A good education, friends, and confidence I didn’t know I had.”

William Zheng, superlative winner, stated, “I would say the best part of the banquet was just talking to friends, and winning ‘most likely to be a published author’ was a nice touch.”

Overall, the Senior Banquet was a fun night that commemorated the Class of 2025 and marks the beginning of the string of celebrations yet to come. Congratulations to all seniors!

Below is a list of all Superlative winners

Superlatives Winners

Olympic Athletes: 

Andrea Dworak and Semir Kemal 

Couple to get married: 

Lexi Diaz and Nico Sells 

World of Dance: 

Neive Carr and Niambi Mills 

Future Presidents: 

Katelyn Stewart and Negus Melku 

Published Authors: 

Melanie Licona and William Zheng 

Tik Tok Famous: 

Charlotte Weikert and Isaiah Raphael Daley 

Top Chefs: 

Zyla Freeman-White and Aidan Tippery 

Star in a Netflix Original Series: 

Charlotte Richesson and Aayden Taylor 

Cure Cancer: 

Joy Mpoyo and Jaemin Thurman 

Lead a march or protest: 

Gray Tejada and Malik Jangha 

Start a successful business: 

Elvia Padilla and James Zimmerman

Best Dressed: 

Fhall Daniel and Dimitri Brown 

Biggest Sneakerheads: 

Alaya Scott and Anderson Lopez 

Next Picasso: 

Carissa Montier and Myles Moore 

Bring Home to Family: 

Jules Lara and Kyle Swygert 

Most School Spirit: 

Eden Threet and Quinn Weaver 

Best Whip/Car: 

Kylie Mojica Reyes and Puck Elkins 

Senioritis: 

Mynor Machado and Kymani Williams 

Addicted to Coffee: 

Becky Floyd and Dustin Garcia 

Win a Grammy: 

Jenny Ogbonna and Ean Ayuk 

Save the Environment: 

Samantha Nguyen and Atlas Johnson 

Best Hair: 

Emilie Pereira and Gabe Affram