The 2023 Homecoming Queen is…

Abigail Karas!

Aliyah Lima and Chloe Tu • October 4, 2023

Abigail Karas is crowned Homecoming Queen by last year’s Queen, Caitlin Ticas.

On Friday, Sept. 22, 2023 John F. Kennedy Memorial High School hosted its annual Homecoming Game vs. Governor Livingston High School where Abigail Karas was announced as this year’s Homecoming Queen.

Crowning the Homecoming Queen is a three step voting process. First, students vote for their Top 5 candidates on a Google form which includes every single female in the senior student body. Then, the faculty votes for two candidates from the Top 10. Finally, the entire senior student body and faculty votes on their Homecoming Queen from the Final Top 5.

After much anticipation, the court was revealed. The Top 5 Finalists were: Mariella Rodriguez, Kristinka Kuzar, Abigail Karas, Ashlee Yamzon and Kirushnavarshini Ranjan. During halftime, the candidates walked out on the football field with their escorts. Former 2022 Homecoming Queen, Caitlin Ticas, made an appearance to acknowledge the court and crown Karas as this year’s Homecoming Queen.

“Being Hoco Queen is such an honor considering all of the different things that go into it, rather than it just being a popularity contest,” Karas states. “Also, it feels good to know that the faculty thinks highly of me, which means even more too, just because it reassures me that all my hard work over these past four years have been paying off.”

Congratulations to the homecoming finalists, and of course, the Homecoming Queen!

About the Contributors

Aliyah Lima, Assistant Editor-in-Chief

Aliyah Lima, contributor to The Torch, was born on December 6th, 2005 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She is currently a second-year journalism student and junior at John F. Kennedy Memorial High School. Lima decided to take journalism after having advisor Mrs. Prusicki, freshman year for English 1. She is currently a base for the JFKMHS spirit cheer squad and is the student council secretary. Additionally, she is a member of key club, autism awareness, American Cancer Society, Kennedy WEvolve, and Spanish Honor Society. In her spare time, Aliyah enjoys reading, watching rom-coms, and spending time with her twin sister. In the future, she hopes to be a children’s psychologist and provide mental health resources for BIPOC and low-income families. Aliyah's main goal is to help erase the stigma around mental health and advocate for children in need.

Chloe Tu, Assistant Editor-in-Chief

Chloe Tu is a junior at John F. Kennedy Memorial High School where she is currently a second-year contributing member of The Torch. Her love for writing and crafting articles continues to flourish and she hopes to manifest it through publishing articles on The Torch. As for extracurriculars, Chloe is a part of the JFK Varsity Spirit Cheerleading team, the Competition cheerleading team, and the Woodbridge Youth Council for the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide. She also is a member of the Chinese Honors Society, Heroes and Cool Kids, as well as the new Narrative 4 movement at JFKMHS. Outside of school, Chloe finds herself learning how to cook new Chinese dishes and catching up with friends. She has a lot of aspirations and goals for the future- one of them being that she hopes to become a market research analyst in the city!