If you ask a group of Bishop Gorman students about their favorite week during the entire school year, there will be an overwhelming amount of similar responses: Homecoming. Even though Homecoming is the most spirited event at Bishop Gorman, no one really knows what happens behind the scenes.
Bishop Gorman’s Associated Student Government (ASG) is responsible for setting up events throughout the school calendar year. There are nearly 50 people that collaborate to create special projects, like setting up for Homecoming, ensuring that students have the best possible experience. In reality, there is a lot of work that happens behind the scenes to make this week as successful as possible.
“Behind the scenes, we are hard at work. We are making posters and we have hallway groups. We are very devoted to making the school look phenomenal during this season,” said student body Vice President Christopher Lee ‘25.
There are many different components of the week that ASG has to bring to life. One of these elements is successfully decorating the school. Throughout this entire Homecoming week, the school is full of colorful posters and designs that each ASG member worked hard to make. This is the way it works: each hallway at school has an appointed leader who makes sure all of the posters are ready to go. These leaders are called “hall chairs.”
“Being a hall chair comes with a lot of responsibilities…coming up with designs and making sure that the work is getting done efficiently,” said senior ASG member Gia Panaro ‘25.
These posters are a key part of this week, so Bishop Gorman’s student council has to make sure that they are to their standards.
“Poster making is time-consuming but it’s important to put lots of detail and time into them to make sure that they represent our council in a good way,” said Panaro ‘25.
Aside from the decorating, the most admired aspect of Homecoming is the pep assembly. This is one of the events out of the school calendar year that requires the most work for the students in Bishop Gorman’s student council. The ASG members work to put together an interactive assembly that includes everyone.
“We try to pace everything out so it is entertaining and engaging. We also try to be as inclusive as possible, by including all of the senior athletes for the fall sports, recognizing them by cheering them on,” said ASG member Alaina Salsaa ‘25.
The entire assembly is student-run. The ASG senior students are on the mic, announcing the entire event.
“We volunteer to MC and Mr. Gleich concocts a plan that he distributes to us,” said Lee. According to Lee, this year’s ASG senior class is full of wannabe commentators. “Since we have so many ASG kids that want to MC, it is pretty competitive for who will be able to announce during the Homecoming assembly,” said Lee.
There’s another exciting tradition that is showcased during the assembly. “We also make Homecoming extra fun by incorporating skits performed by members of the Homecoming court,” said Salsaa. Each year, the student body nominates six boys and six girls on Homecoming court. This group of students has to pair-up and organize a skit to perform in front of the school, which is what they will earn their votes from. During the assembly, they perform these theme-based skits in front of the entire school and alumni.
All in all, the traditions of Homecoming would not be possible without the hard work that Bishop Gorman’s ASG group produces, year in and year out.
“We are really just trying to get people’s spirits up. It takes a long time, but the hard work is really worth it when you look around at the campus,” said Lee. He is right: Bishop Gorman’s Homecoming week is one of the most memorable moments for these students, and it is all thanks to the behind the scenes work of the students in ASG.
