With homecoming week approaching, the class of 2017 comes together to put their creativity to the test. Sweat drips down their faces while students work on the float in the glaring sun at Rocca Ranches. The sophomores decided to build their float with “The Mafia” in mind.

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Alumna and former leadership adviser Kim Bimat is a friend of the Markarian family. Rocca Ranches, owned by her husband’s family, provides an open space to construct the float.

Hannah Nale looks forward to seeing the completed float.

“I am really excited for this year’s sophomore float,” Nale said. “The theme is The Mafia, and we have a lot of great ideas. It’s all coming together very well. If we keep working really hard through the next couple of weekends, then I think we can take first place.”

This year the sophomores plan to do much better than last year and win first place now that they have experience on float building under their belts. Sophomore Phillip Christopher began to attend class float meetings to participate and bond with classmates.

“I think we’re going to do well because we did well last year, so we can only get better,” Christopher said. “It’s pretty fun to work on the float because we can all work together as a class and bond. Float building for me is going better than last year because this time I’m actually going to the meetings, and last year I didn’t go to any.”

As a member of leadership, sophomore Julian Castro plays a significant role in helping to organize the meetings. He looks forward to seeing the unique experience the float has to offer.

“The main focus of the float this year is Mafia and all the mobsters back in the early 1900s era,” Castro said. “The main time frame is the 1940s and 1960s, kind of around the Al Capone era and the big mobsters. So far my favorite part of the float is probably going to be the fact that we have two sides of the float, so it’s kind of like two stories in one. I do think we are doing a lot better this year because we have more experience and we kind of know what’s going on and what to do unlike last year.”

Sophomore Summer McGrew is confident the float will win first place due to the special surprise the class has planned.

“Our float will definitely win this year because we are doing things with our float no other class has,” McGrew said. “The float will be split in two sections with two stories going on at once. We’re also going to have an event taking place on the side of the float so people can get involved.”

Although, excited for the float, some students may not be able to fit the float building meetings into their busy schedule. Sophomores Alena Orth and Matthew Garza participate in extra-curricular activities that eat up much of their time.

“I haven’t been to any of the float meetings,” Garza said. “I have a full plate regarding school and extra-curricular activities, so adding involvement of the homecoming float is too much for me.”

The sophomores would like to thank Rocca Ranches for offering their Saturdays and property to provide the class with an area to assemble their float.

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