Meet the Homecoming Court: Queens

By Staff Writers Erika Liu, Mansi Mundada, Saesha Prabhakar, Andy Zhang, Lucas Zhang

Diya Garg

Inspired by her friends to run, Homecoming Queen Candidate Diya Garg hopes to begin her senior year on  a memorable and exciting note. Garg is an active member of MSJ Peer Resource and MSJ Relay For Life, where she contributes to creating a supportive and compassionate school community. She is also a four-year player for Varsity Girls Soccer and a member of MSJ Darshaana. Beyond her involvement in school activities, Garg enjoys singing, dancing, and spending time with her friends, reflecting her outgoing and energetic personality. Whether it is through athletic commitment or club participation, Garg strives to make the most of her athletic experience while inspiring those around her. 

“[My aim as the Homecoming Court Queen] is to make MSJ more spirited and fun,” Garg said.

 

Manya Jain

Homecoming Queen Candidate Manya Jain is multi-talented,from serving as the Vice President of MSJ Girls Who Code to performing as for MSJ Ishaara, through which she has won many awards at competitions. As a dancer, Jain is a huge fan of Broadway shows, especially Hamilton, which she says she could recite by heart. Apart from dancing, she is an extremely creative person and loves diamond painting — artwork made by sticking plastic gems on sticky paper — because it calms her down. After winning Prom Princess last year, Jain didn’t see any point in running for Homecoming Queen, but her friends convinced her to run. 

“If I were to change something about MSJ, I would change the temperature of some of the classrooms, because they’re always like -35 degrees there, and I can’t study properly because I’m shivering [in the] cold,” Jain said.

Elias Rashid

As a current member of Leadership 2, Elias Rashid hopes to continue his involvement in school events through his campaign for Homecoming Queen. While he initially decided to run Homecoming Queen for fun, Rashid decided to commit to the campaign after his nomination for the court. Beyond L2, Rashid demonstrates creativity and campus involvement through Yearbook and Digital Photography. If he were to change something about MSJ, he would add a football team, believing that it would encourage students  to have fun and socialize —  an opportunity to forget about the stress associated with the school’s academic culture.

“I told my friend that I would run for Homecoming Queen if he ran for Homecoming King, and I realized I could actually hold a notable position after being nominated,” Rashid said.

 

Diya Vinodh

Homecoming Queen Candidate Diya Vinodh finds herself most at home on stage: she is a passionate dancer and singer, and performance art has cemented itself as a central aspect of her non-academic life. Currently serving as the Activities Coordinator for MSJ’s Indian Student Association and a team captain for MSJ Ishaara, a competitive, prize-winning Bollywood-fusion dance team on campus, Vinodh tries to pursue these passions as best she can through community and club involvement, imparting her love for the art form upon peers. As a person, Vinodh describes herself as hardworking, charismatic, and funny. Having participated in and led airbands throughout high school, Vinodh hopes to have fun and fully enjoy herself at her final Homecoming, spending time with friends and hopefully winning the ultimate prize basket, as well. 

“I hope we can tone down the general environment [at MSJ] and place more emphasis on sports, artsy stuff, and fun,” Vinodh said.

 

Stephanie Yu

2025 Homecoming Queen Candidate Stephanie Yu has contributed to MSJ’s student body by serving as Captain for Varsity Girls Basketball and Varsity Track and Field as well as the head of Leadership 2 Sports Committee. When she’s not on the court, track, or planning events, Yu loves to entertain herself with sticking stickers. Describing herself as funny, outgoing, and encouraging, Yu hopes to use her social outreach as a tool to gather support for her campaign for Homecoming Queen. “I found out in my [AP Statistics]  class that I own more than 45 pairs of shoes,” Yu said. Inspired by the opportunity of running alongside her boyfriend and friends, Yu has been motivated to perfect Court 2’s skit to deliver an awe-inspiring performance. 

“[If I could change one thing about MSJ, I would] change people’s mindset. Not everything is about grades,” Yu said.