As we near April, DeLand High School begins preparation for one of its most beloved traditions…Mr. and Miss DHS. Mr. and Miss DHS is a school event and series of two shows. The shows occur the night of April 11 at 7:00p.m., and April 12 during the school day in the DHS auditorium. This event is sponsored by Mendi Camacho and run by Leadership and SGA. It decides the new faces and representatives of DeLand High School for the upcoming school year.
This year's contestants posed with the current Mr. and Miss DHS.
Throughout the years, Mr. and Miss DHS has seen major changes, though the exact year the event began is unknown. In the 1957 yearbook, Mr. and Miss lacked the Mr. and had only the Miss pageant. The criteria for Miss were based on poise, beauty and talent.
In 1957, they had Mr. and Miss for individual grade levels as well as Miss DHS. There was a Mr. and Miss Senior, Junior, Sophomore and Freshman. Instead of having a single Mr. and Miss who are the faces and role models of the school, they had them be a representative and role model for each class.
Flash forward to the late 1970s and 1980s, having a Mr. and Miss per grade level had ended. However, in these years Mr. DHS came into existence in the same magnitude as the preexisting Miss DHS. Mr. and Miss DHS, role models of DeLand High School finally were one and together. Except, they were not. Mr. and Miss DHS were separate events and competitions, taking place on different days, with different themes and criteria, until 2021 when it merged into a single event.
When both shows became one, Camacho took it over as a whole. Prior to 2021, Camacho oversaw the Miss show. Now, in 2024, Mr. and Miss would not happen without her. Camacho oversees the entire preparation of the event. She is the head of all eleven committees during the show preparation.
During practices in April, she teaches the contestants to walk pageant style and she teaches kick line. She also makes sure the flow of practices is productive, consistent and constructive; and she tweaks the performances as they near show.
Aside from Camacho, Leadership and SGA run the show. Leadership began show preparation in November and have been working on the show every day in their fifth period Leadership class since. As the show approaches in April, they will work for two weeks straight during practices to perfect the show and everything within it.
Some of the Leadership members who worked on the show's production.
This year Leadership formed eleven committees to prepare for the show. They separated into these committees in November. In the committees, Leadership members act as captains for each, and SGA makes up the bulk of the committee. As for what these committees do, there are binders passed down from past Mr. and Miss events.
These binders give information as to what needs to be done for each committee and are updated each year. These act as a sort of to-do list for Leadership and SGA during preparation. They also depending on the committee, must get sponsors for the event. Examples of committees are set and deck and dance.
Before beginning preparation, Leadership must first decide a theme for the show. This year’s theme is “Under the Big Top.” To choose a theme, Leadership picks and has a discussion regarding three ideas during their leadership class period. Then they are in charge of creating PowerPoints with ideas, examples and visuals. These PowerPoint presentations are then proposed at the next general SGA meeting for voting. The club members take a vote on what theme of the three they like best, and that becomes the official Mr. and Miss theme.
As for the shows themselves, they are made up of various components. The show has a set structure consisting of the opening dance, talent portion and walk and talk with the contestants. They also include special performances by the current Mr. and Miss DHS and Avant Garde.
At the end of the first night, the five finalists are announced. There are two finalists for Mr. and three for Miss. The finalists will then go on to the secondary show occurring the following school day. This show follows the same structure, then at the end the new Mr. and Miss DHS are announced.
During the night show, there are three official judges. There is a Leadership committee in charge of finding the three capable and unbiased judges from around DeLand. Usually, the same judges are used, given they are free for the show and interviews.
To qualify as a contestant, you must have and maintain a GPA of at least 2.5, have teacher recommendations and be able to maintain a “role model” status. If all of the criteria are met, the contestants then attend an audition to ensure they are serious about running.
The 2024-2025 Mr. and Miss contestants are Matthieu North, Tyler Okunor and Zach Sampson for Mr. DHS; and Caroline Cantlay, Emily Cloudman, Adalyn Foster, Grace Green and Ka’Maria Haglof for Miss DHS.
To officially become a contestant there is an audition. The auditions include showing your talent and answering some questions. Foster who went first, “had absolutely no idea what to expect.” She recalls, being summoned into the auditorium after having waited in the lobby with the other contestants, then she was asked an interview question by Camacho while on stage. She answered through the microphone then went on to show her talent. She was stopped mid-performance as she had shown she was serious about competing and went to hang out with the other contestants in the lobby.
The audition experience for Green was similar, however, she recalls more specifically being brought in front of Camacho, Lundell and Leadership to showcase her talent. She also remembers being asked questions such as "Why do you want to run for Mr./Miss DHS?" or "What sets you apart from the rest of the group?”
North also recalls questions that targeted personality and finding out who the contestant really is.
Sampson recalls a similar experience to the other contestants; however, he had a different perspective on all the contestants waiting in the lobby, interacting together.
According to Sampson, “they locked us contestants into a room and forced us to talk to each other, which sounds way worse than it was.” He believes this helped to alleviate any nerves the contestants may have had.
Besides auditions, the contestants have not done much for the event, as official rehearsals begin in April. In February, however, the contestants, and current Mr. and Miss, Terrance Ward and Karissa Smith, had a photoshoot in Downtown DeLand.
So far, the contestants are loving the experience of taking part in Mr. and Miss DHS. When asked about their experience so far, the responses had many similarities. Many said that they loved getting to know and befriending the other contestants, the energy of the event and everyone in it and the organization and positivity. The contestants are also appreciative of the current Mr. and Miss, Ward and Smith, as they’ve been very understanding and supportive to the current contestants.
Most contestants have more motivators and inspiration for participating than just the title. When asked what the competition meant to them and why they chose to run, many had somewhat personal reasons for running.
For Foster, it is an opportunity to represent her school and community. Miss DHS is “to be the face of the school, advocating for students, while maintaining a fun and positive environment. I love to reach out to, and meet new people, and Miss DHS is seeming to be the absolute perfect experience for that!”
From her freshman year Foster knew she wanted to run for Miss. Growing up dancing and public speaking, running for Miss was the perfect opportunity for her to create friendships and represent her school in a fun way.
Miss DHS for Cantlay is a chance to show everyone what she loves and to have fun with friends. “Ever since I was little music has been a part of my life and I want to show everyone why I love it.”
For Haglof running for Miss is to be one of the best. To her, students who chose to run have “talent and enough passion to showcase it to the whole school. It takes a lot of guts to do something like that.”
Her choice to run was partially inspired by her friends who have won Mr. or Miss in the past. They gave her an insider’s perspective, and she thought participating would be lots of fun.
Green has been performing in the event through Avant Garde since her freshman year. Seeing it she’s always loved the environment and the family-like dynamic of the contestants created during the event. She also has an appreciation and love for DeLand High School. “I feel like it has become a home for me, both in academics and in the extracurriculars.” She aspires to reflect this appreciation by becoming a role model in the school and community.
For Cloudman, running for Miss is a chance for her to be a part of a tradition deeply rooted in the school and the community. Since her first day on campus, she has wanted to run for Miss. She is “eager to be the next ambassador and share my love for all things DeLand High School.”
On the Mr. side, North views Mr. DHS as a high standard of leadership and the person holding the title refines themselves around their activities, academics and involvement on campus. North’s class is important to him. He says, “I want to use what I know to make a positive impact on the school and its students.”
Okunor has been interested in running since his freshman year, and he believes it will be a fun and enjoyable experience. Mr. for Okunor is to be “a representative and a role model around campus that you can always rely on.”
Sampson, unlike most of the other contestants, did not know he wanted to run for Mr. DHS. After seeing the shows throughout the years, he was inspired to run. Another reason he stated, “I've also become more gracious for what this school has given to me, whether it be its academics or new communities of friends.”
Like Green, he wants to show his appreciation for DeLand High School through an exciting representative role on campus. Mr. to Sampson is to “represent the values and spirit Deland High stands for” and to represent a true role model on campus.
The show is heavily centered around the talent portion. For the talent, Foster and Green plan to show their love of dance. Foster is doing a jazz/musical theatre piece. Haglof is performing jazz singing, Cloudman is also singing and Cantlay is planning to show her trumpet skills.
For Mr. DHS, Okunor plans to play the piano and North is playing a short elude on the flute. Sampson’s talent juxtaposes his components as he plans to solve a Rubik’s Cube while running on a treadmill at a six mile per hour pace, in under two minutes.
The talent, however, is just one part of this massive event. For Sampson, he imagines the talent is his favorite component of the event. His reasoning being, “it's a lot of fun to solve the Rubik's cube while running on a treadmill so I couldn't imagine it not being my favorite part.”
Cloudman and Haglof both said their favorite part is bonds formed with the other contestants and the journey they all will be sharing as the event continues.
Okunor has a similar favorite. He said it is “probably getting to know different personalities and different people going for the same position.” Likewise, Cantlay is enjoying the friendships forming between the contestants and that they all get to share their passions.
Foster feels similarly, she said “getting to know each of them better is a real treat. I can't wait to further develop each individual friendship for I know they will be worthwhile!”
North’s favorite component is different, he said he has “always loved the final performance” and that he is excited that he may get to perform in it this year.
Green, like Sampson is unsure her favorite component. However, she is looking forward to the opening dance. Green said, “It is one of my favorite things to watch every year and, knowing the theme of Mr. and Miss this year, I hope the opening dance will be equally as fun to learn and perform.”
Many of the contestants are very involved around campus or in the community through clubs, teams or activities. Starting with our Miss contestants, Cantlay is the president of Tri-M and the treasurer of FFEA. She also participates in Interact, The Bark, Communication Academy, Communication Club, ICC, NHS and Mental Health Club.
Foster is in the IB Program and is dual enrolled at Daytona State College. She is sergeant-at-arms for the school’s dance team, Avant Garde, publicist for the junior class SGA and co-parliamentarian of NHS. Foster is also actively involved in other clubs and organizations like Interact, Book Club, Renaissance, SNHS, SCNHS and NHSDA. In the community, she was selected for DeLand School of Government. This is a leadership program that is sponsored by and in partnership with the City of DeLand.
Green is takes part in academic activities such as being a member of the IB Program, the historian of NHS, SNHS, SCNHS, Rho Kappa and she is a part of the new history-based NHS. She is also a member of Avant Garde, SGA and Renaissance.
Cloudman takes part in Leadership, SGA, Deland Singers, Dolce Voce, NHS, Rho Kappa, Renaissance and Spirit Club. She is also the Recording Secretary of the executive SGA Board, the Student Advisor for FFA and a part of the DeLand Mayor’s Youth Council. She has also recently been named Student Body President for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year.
Haglof is heavily involved with the band program. One of the activities she partakes in is drumline, which plays for the school’s pep rallies and Friday football games. They also play for the school board and have concerts.
As for our Mr. contestants, Okunor is also involved in band. He is the head drum major and leads the high school marching band. He is also in Tri-M and has been a part of the engineering academy for three years.
North also shares the love of music both in school and outside of school. He is involved in the Band program, Tri-M and is a part of many music programs across the state. He is also a member of the Renaissance club on campus.
Sampson is involved in athletics, clubs and other programs on campus. In the fall he runs on the Cross-Country team, and in the spring, he plays on the Tennis team. During the spring, he also balances being in marching band and concert band. Academically, he is a member of the IB Program, Science Olympiad, SCNHS and French NHS. He is also a member of SGA, Renaissance, Model UN and the newly formed Youth Council.
This year, the majority of the contestants share the belief that any one of them could win. Each contestant is heavily involved and known around campus and a great candidate to be the next Mr. or Miss DHS. This makes it hard for anyone to gauge who the winner would be.
Green stated, “I do not think I could predict this outcome, and I think that is the best way for this to be.”
Right now, the competition is completely in the air, and until April 12, the future Mr. and Miss DHS outcome will remain unpredictable.
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Photos courtesy of Mendi Camacho
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