BRYAN, Texas — “He has his little helmet, so you know he’s from Bryan High,” said Bryan High School Senior Areli Camacho as she described her favorite part of the school’s "Texas-sized" mum made in honor of homecoming being a week away.
Camacho is a floral design student and said she is ready to celebrate her last homecoming as a senior by displaying one of the biggest symbols of the occasion for all to see.
“This is actually like my first time making something this big for the whole school like this mum, and I really enjoyed it,” Camacho said.
Standing at just over 17 feet tall, Camacho and her classmates constructed the “Mega Mum” as they like to call it — to ring in the homecoming season for the Vikings.
Hannah Hawkins is the floral design teacher with the Agriculture Department for the high school. She explained the process behind the giant mum.
“The flower part is coffee filters that are put on cardboard and the cardboard has been put on a piece of plywood and that’s what really is holding everything together,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins' students included other materials like butcher paper and the 17 feet of ribbons to make the mega mum into the spectacle it is — not just for the Bryan High School community but for bragging rights across Texas schools.
“In the floral teacher community, we might be one of 15 schools that are doing this right now,” Hawkins said.
For seniors like Melanie Perez, the week-long hard work was worth it.
“It was very stressful, but we did it – it’s up there now,” Perez said.