There weren’t many school activities in which Chin students were involved such as sports, after school clubs, and even homecoming, until the past few years. Many Chin students are getting more involved in these activities such as homecoming. This year, Perry Township had a king who is Chin and a princess who is also Chin.

Dave Bawi, who is a senior in Perry Meridian High School, became the king for this school year. Bawi says he feels honored to have this title, and he feels very satisfied knowing that majority of his school voted for him to have this position. He says this is probably one of the best things that ever happened to him. He is also glad to walk the parade with his partner, Megan Wenclewicz, and to his queen, Sara Allman.

“I didn’t expect this title at all. Knowing the fact me being the minority in our school, I never thought I had the chance at all,” Bawi wrote in an email to the Journal. “I believe every candidate deserves to get this title because of their dedication and commitment toward #thebesthighschoolintheworld.”

According to Bawi, he usually spends most of his time in school or doing school-related work. There are some days when he would stay in school until 10 at night. He says the students and staff in Perry Meridian are the people who got him where he is today, and without them, he wouldn’t be able to get the position as a king for his school.

Since Bawi is the first Chin person to get this kind of position, he says he feels like he represents the Chin community as a whole. No other Chin have gotten this position before, so he says he is very honored to be the first Chin to be crowned as the homecoming king.

“ I hope I can show my fellow Burmese that just because we are the minority race doesn’t mean we can’t be on the same level as our fellow peers,” Bawi wrote.

Just like Bawi, SHS also has a Chin student, Jenny Thang, who was a princess for this year’s homecoming for freshmen class. Thang also never expected to get this title because she says she is not really close with any teachers, so she had no idea that they would nominate her as a freshmen princess.

Thang is the second Chin student to get this title after SHS graduate Emily Ngun Hlei Sung, who got this position in her junior year. Although Thang didn’t expected to get this position as a freshmen princess, she was very excited that she got this and really proud of it.

“ I am really proud of myself for earning this title, and I thank all of my teachers who nominated me and noticed my hard work,” Thang said. “ I am also thankful to God because earning this has nothing to do with what I have and what I know. It is his way of showing his love for me and for me to even closer to him.”