Rockville High School Senior Diary: Mr. RHS

The 2016 Mr. RHS pageant has officially ended. At stake were two free prom tickets, a free yearbook, and a free class day ticket.

Congratulations to George Janssen on being this year’s winner.

In year’s past, this ever-popular pageant was thought to be mainly a popularity contest, but this year’s results proved that theory wrong. The fan favorite - Romeo Sowa - placed second this year, ahead of Kevin Perrone who came in third.

George won over the judges with this impression of Napoleon Dynamite. He fit the character so well - his lanky arms and legs swinging back and forth to
Canned Heat by Jamiroquai. His curly hair bounced up and down to the beat of the funky dance music.

The audience was captivated in a state of shock and awe when he started dancing, but soon burst into a roar of laughter. George Janssen had finally found his place in this world, and that is through dance.

The other talents were somewhat less than impressive. While some made something up the night of dress rehearsal, other’s seemed to have been preparing for this moment their whole lives.

Perrone, sang his little heart out to You Make Me Feel So Young by Frank Sinatra, but not before dazzling the crowd in a homemade mermaid tail blanket - thanks to me - and a coconut bra that was obviously not a one-size-fits-all.

Romeo Sowa also dazzled the crowd with his talents on the piano with his escort, Megan Hasty. They played a compilation of different romantic songs ranging from All of Me by John Legend to the Adel classic, Someone Like You.

The boys all looked sharp in their tuxes, and their escorts looked stunning as well. They picked out quite the arm candy this year. If you sat next to the escorts, or were a part of tech crew, you could hear the girls complaining about their feet all through the night.

From backstage, where I snacked on popcorn and cheese balls, I got a front row seat to all of the action. As one of the MCs I can honestly say that our dresses were better than our act. The audience seemed to enjoy eating Oreos off of the stage and flipping water bottles to their heart’s content, but I would say that the boys kept it more interesting.

The question and answers were quite normal; Who do you look up to? What would you do as your first act as President? Which Mean Girl’s character are you most like? You know, normal questions like that.

The guy with the shortest hair pulled the question asking how long it takes for him to do his hair in the morning. The question, tailored for Perone who is notorious for his OHD (Obsessive Hair Disorder) but was honestly answered by Sowa. “On a good day, it takes about 30 seconds,” he said. But I still think everyone wants to know: how long does it take for Kevin to do his hair every morning?

This night would not have been possible without the trustworthy and unbiased opinions of our judges - Christian Stevenson, Brian Forte, Leslie Shultz, and Alba Osorio.

It was a hilariously fun night and I can’t wait to see who is crowned Mr. RHS 2017.

Photo credit: Hannah Ramsdell