As prom draws near, the student body is voting for prom king and queen from April 3 to April 16. The winners will be announced at prom on April 22. Here is an introduction to the 10 nominees.

Joshua Park

Senior Joshua Park is the president of the Hebron Asian Student Association, the Student Council secretary and a member of band. To him, prom is a defining moment in his life.

“Prom is my last closing chapter,” Park said. “I’m getting ready to go to college, so I feel like prom is a good way to celebrate everything I’ve worked for.”

As a freshman, Park said he struggled with time management and choosing between his multiple interests, such as band and Student Council. 

 “Figuring out how to be involved and continue to give effort was a great challenge,” Park said. “As I got older, I figured out which interests were important and valuable to me. I had to figure out which ones I wanted to keep pursuing and which ones I wanted to get rid of.”

At the time, Park worried over his cystic acne until he visited a dermatologist that not only helped him with treatment, but inspired him to pursue the career. 

 “I had really bad skin and I struggled with my image and confidence,” Park said. “Whenever I visited my dermatologist, every visit felt like a wave of relief. He was very inspiring, cool [and] friendly. I wanted to share that confidence he instilled in me with others. [Now,] my biggest goals are becoming a dermatologist and helping as many people as I can.”

In his free time, Park enjoys spending time with his family, hanging out with his friends, playing video games and  playing volleyball. He said his greatest achievement this year was being accepted into the University of Texas at Austin.

“I want to be the best person I can be and I don’t ever want to feel like I wasted my time or wasted my potential,” Park said. “My biggest inspiration are my goals and knowing what I can do.”

Case Holleron

Senior Case Holleron is a football wide receiver, track runner and member of the principal’s advisory committee. After graduating, he plans on attending The University of Oklahoma, University of North Texas, The University of Texas at San Antonio, Southern Methodist University or The University of Colorado Boulder to major in business, a field he describes as versatile and in which his parents work as software salespeople.

“Business is pretty broad so I have a lot of different options, [and] my parents are both in business,” Holleron said. “[In the future, I want to] graduate from a four-year college [and] provide for a family.”

Sports have been an important part of Holleron’s life. He played basketball for the past three years and track and football since his freshman year. His proudest achievements are moving on to districts and winning the Texas 7-on-7 Championship  in 2021.

“Ever since I saw the kids playing [football] at recess, I wanted to play, and [I’ve] loved it ever since,” Holleron said. “My favorite thing [about sports] is the competitiveness and teamwork. I learned to be accountable, how to communicate with others for a common goal [and how to solve a] problem.”

Throughout his freshman year, Holleron learned the importance of communication and organization. He said he looks up to his mother, who taught him to work hard to improve.

“[My mom’s] a leader and a strong successful person in my life, so I just want to follow her example,” Holleron said. “She is positive and finds the way through tough situations. [I admire] her relentlessness to work hard and not care what other people think.”

In his free time, Holleron works on improving his fitness and plays golf in courses around his neighborhood. His experiences taught him about empathy and how to treat others.

“The teachers and students around me [helped me learn to] always be kind,” Holleron said. “Whatever you put in will come back to you.”

Dante Bush

Senior Dante Bush is captain of the golf team and a member of National Honor Society, Science National Honor Society and the principal’s advisory committee. He was at a principal’s committee meeting when prom court nominations were announced.

“I was blown away to see my name actually made it up there,” Bush said. “I started telling everybody ‘hey, vote for me, let’s do this, it could be really fun.’ I didn’t do it very seriously; it was for fun. [I] didn’t think it could ever happen.”

Throughout his time in high school, Bush took AP math and science courses that he said taught him the importance of communication. Outside of school, he has volunteered at Frisco Family Services and Mosaic.

“When I was a freshman, I remember it was really scary, — I had bad anxiety about [communicating] and even just pushing myself to get out of my shell and talk with other people was a really big challenge for me,” Bush said. “It took a lot of effort on my end, a lot of confidence and just overcoming anxiety.”

Bush will be attending Purdue University next year to become a mechanical engineer and aspires to work in the automotive industry. Last summer, he job-shadowed in Auto Hans, a European automotive repair shop.

“My mom is a veterinarian and one of her clients owns a mechanic shop,” Bush said. “She was able to talk to him to [help me] work as a mechanic and shadow. I was really lucky to get the opportunity to do it and I loved it. I’m going to do it again this summer.”

In his free time, Bush goes to the gym, plays golf, examines cars and hangs out with his friends and family. 

“It’s the people that are in my life that inspire me and drive me the most,” Bush said. “[I] want to succeed and give back to them for all the opportunities they’ve given me. I am [lucky] to have good friends and family and to come from where [I am] using that to its full extent in achieving the career of my dreams.”

Asil Mithani 

Senior Asil Mithani is a senior class officer, Student Council treasurer, Ruckus and Rowdy leader and a member of DECA, Science National Honors Society, National Honors Society, the Hebron Asian Student Association, Key Club, Technology Student Association, Red Cross club and Muslim Students Association.

“I was really excited to get nominated],” Mithani said. “It’s a great honor to be nominated by my fellow classmates and for the school in general. It’s a really good feeling to hear my name announced and to have that opportunity to be a nominee [for] king this year.”

Mithani got a full ride to the University of Texas at Dallas where he will be studying business, an interest he developed at a young age. 

“I like doing stocks [and] reselling things,” Mithani said. “Through Boy Scouts, I started to sell popcorn and chocolate. I [also] started selling shoes and making profit off of that. Recently, I started my own tutoring business. I’ve always had the whole business aspect of myself [and] it’s something that I’m just really interested in.”

He became an Eagle Scout in Boy Scouts of America and was a Carrollton Youth Volunteer of the Year nominee in 2021 for volunteering over 1,000 hours. He said his busy schedule taught him time management.

“The way I handle [my extracurriculars and volunteering] is [by making] myself a schedule,” Mithani said. “I know dual credit [government] and [economics] was a little bit hard for me, but I set a routine, a balance and a schedule for myself of when to study. I was able to push through and succeed in that. At the end of the day, I’m happy and blessed.”

Mithani enjoys playing poker, watching the Dallas Mavericks, playing basketball, napping and watching television. His future goal is to start a nonprofit organization to improve the lives of children by providing them with basic resources.

“Throughout high school, I became more serious about life and goals,” Mithani said. “I am way more religious and more faith-oriented now. My purpose in life is to help others around me and to do as much as I can to help my local community.”

Aryan Sharma

Senior Aryan Sharma is in band, Red Cross club, Hebron Asian Student Association, Key Club, National Honor Society and Science National Honor Society.

Sharma plans on going to the University of Dallas to study computer science. He has experience with coding and was able to help in software development for Disdriv, a company that specializes in driving behavior analysis.

“In the long term, I want to get a job that is enough for me to retire my parents,” Sharma said. “I [also] want to be able to have a good, nice family and enough money to provide for them and make sure that they’re happy. My main goal right now is to work and make my mom proud.”

Sharma’s family and band friends inspire him to do his best. Growing up, he said he looked up to his brother, who overcame challenges to improve how he played music.

“When [my brother] came into high school, he was one of the worst [band] players in his section,” Sharma said. “As he got to his senior year, he became the best. Now he’s in UT Austin and has a computer science degree that he’s working on and started a photography business. I know all those three things are really hard to juggle, but he’s still doing it and he’s always really happy while he’s doing it too.”

Looking back at high school, Sharma said he struggled the most with coming back from quarantine, but adapted with support from his friends and family and learned to set goals.

“During COVID, I got super lazy,” Sharma said. “Coming back and taking some hard classes and band was pretty hard. I had visions of who I wanted to be. My friends [and parents] were pushing me to be better.”

In his free time, Shama said he enjoys playing basketball and playing the guitar.

“What I realized is that if you just be yourself; it makes high school ten times more fun,” Sharma said. “Just enjoy yourself [and] have fun being yourself.”

Sophia Witis Hughes

Senior Sophia Witis Hughes is a goalkeeper for the soccer team, and is a part of National Honor Society, Ruckus and Rowdy and I Am Second. She describes herself as outgoing, caring, fun and friendly. She said she has her tendencies of being shy, but mostly loves making friends.

“Being friendly and kind goes a long way,” Hughes said. “There’s some people who, instead of just saying ‘hi,’ would walk right past [people], and I feel like acknowledging people helps bring a sense of friendship, even if I’m not close with them. I know a bunch of people in different groups, so I feel like being nice to everyone got me [nominated].”

Hughes has played on the soccer team for all four years of high school, and has remained on varsity since freshman year.

“Playing soccer for four years is a really big achievement,” Hughes said. “I feel like I proved to everyone that it can be done because so many people [want to quit]. There were many times where I wanted to quit because I was struggling mentally, but my friends helped me push through it.”

Hughes said her friends are her biggest inspiration to keep going. She said she doesn’t want her friends to see her fail, but instead be an example to them.

“Even if I’m not having a good day, I’m still happy to show them it’s OK not to be OK,” Hughes said. “I can still fight through and have a good day, even if I’m having a bad one. That’s what helps me push through — just knowing that my friends are looking up to me.”

During Hughes’ freshman year, she said she struggled with her insecurities. She said she has since worked on herself, and become a more confident person.

“My freshman self would’ve never expected this,” Hughes said. “I think it’s pretty cool because a lot of girls struggle with their insecurities, so I feel like [I’m] showing them it’s OK to be insecure and work on yourself. I feel like working on yourself is really important because sometimes people just brush it under the rug and go on about their day feeling like they’re not worth anything, when they are. People need to realize that they’re worth something more than just their insecurities. I feel like that would be really cool if my freshman year self could see that.”

Payton Gissler

Senior Payton Gissler is on the volleyball team, and is a part of Circle of Friends and Hebron Pals. She described herself as friendly, positive, social and encouraging.

“I enjoy helping others,” Gissler said. “That is what I thrive off of. I’m friendly, outgoing, and I would like to think that I’m nice to everyone.”

Gissler played club volleyball for 10 years, and then joined Hebron’s team when she was a freshman. In both, she has won multiple MVP and character awards for being a positive person.

“[I] try to find the positive in every aspect,” Gissler said. “Obviously, there’s ups and downs in high school, but just try to find the good in everything and see the good in people.”

Gissler wants to go to college to get her master’s degree and become a licensed professional counselor.

“High school has helped me just by showing me how much I enjoy helping others,” Gissler said. “It made me realize that’s something I want to do with the rest of my life if I could.”

Melody Ebrahimi

Senior Melody Ebrahimi is class president and Student Council president, and is involved in Hands of Hope and Key Club. She describes herself as outgoing, and loves to meet new people.

“I was honestly surprised [when I got nominated],” Ebrahimi said. “For homecoming, all of the sponsors submit a person for their organization, [but for prom], it was nice that people actually voted for me. I feel like I’m very outgoing and I like to talk to people. I met a lot of new people this year in my classes, and I feel like [by] being involved in clubs, Student Council especially, I’ve been able to put myself out there more and people know me more.”

Ebrahimi’s parents grew up in Iran. They came to America alone when they were young during the Iranian Revolution.

“Their hardships kind of [taught me a lot],” Ebrahimi said. “I’ve learned a lot from them, and I have a lot of values from them — they’re definitely my motivation.”

As a freshman, Ebrahimi said she was shy and feared public speaking.

“That was something I really struggled with,” Ebrahimi said. “I’m definitely fine with it [now], like I do the announcements every single day. I’ve really grown in that aspect and developed a lot of skills that I can use in my future.”

Ebrahimi plans to go to college after high school to further her education. She said she feels high school has helped her get there because she’s involved in so much, and has learned many skills to help her in her future.

“[Winning prom queen] would mean a lot,” Ebrahimi said. “It’s very cool to say you’ve won prom queen and everyone voted for you.”

Dallas Sandford

Junior Dallas Sandford is in Black Student Union, Circle of Friends and the principal’s advisory committee. She describes herself as outgoing, outspoken and determined.

“I am a leader,” Sandford said. “When I have an opinion for stuff, I’m very loud and a lot of people can relate. I’m very relatable with people, so they can [see themselves in me].”

Sandford will be the first generation in her family to go to college. She is also graduating a year early, meaning she will graduate this year as a junior.

“What inspires me is my mom,” Sanford said, “I’m doing a lot for her because [she] didn’t graduate high school. Being on top of my work [and the fact that] I can be a senior this year is big, [even though] I’m supposed to be a junior.”

Sandford’s advice to other students is to stay on top of their work, not procrastinate and not care about other people’s opinions.

“If you need [or want] something, then do it,” Sandford said. “Caring about other people’s opinions kind of had a burden over me, but now that I’m doing what I want to do, I’m more positive and adventurous.”

While Sandford is not the only person of color on the ballot, she is the only black student.

‘’It would actually mean a lot to me [to win],” Sandford said. “A lot of people think that Hebron is a diverse school, [but] not a lot of people get picked like me, so I’m just showing that everyone can do it no matter what color you are.”

Alexa Moldenhauer

Senior Alexa Mouldenhauer is the editor-in-chief of the yearbook, and is involved in Student Council, National Honor Society, National Art Honor Society, National English Honor Society, Hands of Hope and the principal’s advisory committee. She describes herself as nice, hard-working and ambitious.

“Everyone that you encounter, whether in a learning environment or in [a] club, everyone’s different,” Moldenhauer said. “You always have to be mindful that everyone has things going on in their personal lives, and just being kind to them is another way of helping them through whatever they’re going through.”

Moldenhauer plans to pursue a career in service. She says she either wants to become a physician or go into a different career in healthcare.

“Something that I love doing is helping people,” Moldenhauer said. “Through these clubs, I’m able to give back to the community, volunteer, have fun with my friends and do good things.” 

One of Moldenhauers’ best friends, Melody Ebrahimi, is also on court. She said she will be voting and campaigning for her, instead of herself.

“I don’t want to sound ungrateful, I’m honored that people want me to win,” Moldenhaur said. “But I’d love to see someone up there who had just been dreaming of that moment.”

EDITORS’ NOTE: The story previously reported that Aryan was planning to go to the University of Texas at Austin. It has since been corrected to show that he is is planning on attending the University of Dallas