As the school year ends, students enjoy their spring activities, warm weather and most recently, the Prom dance. A special event for most, the Prom was made unforgettable when Pleasant Valley’s 2025 Prom King and Queen were crowned.
A prominent figure of the 2025 class, senior Divij Riat was crowned King alongside senior track star Grace Boleyn, based on an upperclassmen vote, where his light shined even brighter under the lights of the dance.
The prom dance is held annually at the RiverCenter in Davenport, and it is always decorated enthusiastically by the members of PV’s Social Committee. This year’s prom theme was “The Golden Gala,” (TGG) inspired by the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald..
Throughout Prom week, students bought tickets to TGG and Right After Prom (RAP) and celebrated their school spirit with themed dress-up days while they enjoyed seeing the campaigns of seniors running for court.
Notably, upperclassmen across the school recall the excitement of their classmate, Riat, running for Prom King after the court was announced. Before she was crowned, Boleyn knew her “dream running-mate”, and exclaimed, “You already know it’s Divij Riat!”
Boleyn did not originally plan to attend the dance or even advertise her campaign after making the court, but she was determined to help Divij gain his desired votes, “I’m confused why I am on prom court because I didn’t expect people to vote for me, but now I want to campaign with Divij because it’s telling more people to vote for him even if they don’t vote for me,” Boleyn expressed.
Boleyn shared multiple Instagram stories telling peers to vote for her for Prom royalty. Her favorite slogan named her the “Big Sigma on Campus”, appealing to the new wave of Gen-Alpha humor that has surfaced on the internet.
On the other hand, Riat had a more personable approach: Riat spent weeks prior to the Prom assembly introducing himself to peers of all grade levels and encouraging them to elect him for Prom court. Riat ran a long campaign with the end goal of becoming King in mind. “I want to be the Prom King like how Luci Patel was the Prom Queen,” shared Riat.
As a part of his campaign, which included fist-bumps and high-fives, Riat provided an exciting incentive to vote for him, promising to dance to “Party in the U.S.A.” by Miley Cyrus, one of his favorite school dance songs.
When the time came to crown the royalty, the DJ did not disappoint, blasting his requested song immediately after Principal Mike Hawley crowned Boleyn and Riat the royalty of The Golden Gala. The dance was exceptionally hyped after Riat showed off his best moves alongside his friends in the middle of the dance circle. Boleyn even recalled, “Seeing Divij dance afterwards was so exciting that I forgot I was also wearing a crown.”
Riat demonstrated a clear effort to win the vote and hearts of the student body, coming away with the most special reward: “Being crowned King was the best day in my life, ever!” he concluded. Students will not soon forget the “reign” of the most positive, kind, and outgoing Prom King Pleasant Valley has ever seen.
