The Heart of Events at Owasso High School

By Kenzee Hampton

At the heart of many of the events at  Owasso High School (OHS), there's a selfless person willing to put in the work to help others and better student’s experiences. The leaders of the Junior and Senior Board are teachers that are going the extra mile to help create memories for students. 

Junior board, a student organization is responsible for planning many events at OHS, which is led by Tina Mayfield. One of the main things that the Junior Board is responsible for is planning prom every year. 

Mayfield asserts, “We do everything from picking the theme to picking the colors, invitations [and] tickets; every single thing about prom.” 

While Junior Board members help plan prom, they are also busy getting ready to attend just like many other high school students. This leaves Mayfield to do the hard work of setting everything up and making sure the event runs smoothly, but she doesn’t do it alone. Mayfield usually calls in for some helpers such as her dad and National Honors Society members. 

This year’s prom will be on the 28 and 29 of May at the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks. Tickets will cost $35 in April, and in May, the cost will go up to $45. The theme this year is midnight masquerade. 

Mrs. Mayfield holding a candle from prom

Mayfield says, “I am so glad we are having prom this year, two proms. The Prom is not set up with grades. Juniors on Friday and seniors on Saturday was what we originally said, but [now] it will be whatever night you buy a ticket for.” 

Mayfield has been in charge of the Junior Board for 13 years now. She states, “[Junior Board and planning prom] hasn’t changed much over the years. Yet, this year is a touch different because we didn’t have officers, and we had all of our meetings on Google Meet.”

When asked why Mayfield decided to become an advisor for the Junior Board, her face lit up, and she proclaimed, “I like to plan parties. I always say I’m going to be a party planner in my second life. I enjoy doing it every year, it is a lot of work, but I enjoy it.”

For both Mayfield and Junior Board as a whole, their main goal is to help students have a good time at prom. Mayfield and the club prepare prom in every aspect. 

Just like the Junior Board has its own events to take care of, the Senior Board has a list of to-dos every school year. The committee is responsible for planning Grad Bash, Senior Picnic, awards assemblies, Mr. and Ms. OHS, fundraisers and so much more. 

One of the Senior Board leaders is Tricia Smith; she has been helping for four years now. She started when the previous sponsors decided not to do it anymore. She states, “Mrs. Palmer wanted to give it a try, and she asked me to help, so we did it together.  It has been fun, [and] a little stressful at times.”

With everything the Senior Board does, it is understandable that everything they do can be stressful. They recently had a fundraiser at McAlister’s and are also planning to have a movie night in April. They will be inviting the whole community to the event, so keep your eyes open for dates coming out soon. 

Smith states, “[Our fundraisers are] to help raise money for grad bash prizes. We usually give $7,000 to $10,000 away in prizes.”

This year's Grad Bash will be at the Main Event, which is something new the Senior Board is trying this year. 

Smith explains, “It will be lots of fun. There will be lots of games at Main Event.”

It can get hectic with everything the senior board does, but Smith loves the leadership opportunities it gives her senior students. 

Smith states, “When you [give the seniors] a job, you assign them duties. This club gives them the opportunity to experience and learn the ins and outs of what to do and what all needs to be done and checked off of your list [in order] to do something and be successful at it.”

Junior and Senior Board members and leaders have many responsibilities that help better everyone’s high school experience. Many of the events that make OHS so memorable only occur because of these two groups’ hard work. If they didn’t do their jobs efficiently, things would not run as smoothly. From everyone at Owasso High School, we sincerely thank our Junior and Senior Board members for serving our students and filling every year with memorable events that will last us a lifetime.