For Mario Grijalva and Stacy Elizabeth Segeberg, the 2002 Homecoming was something special. It marked the first time in Bakersfield College history that the king and queen were representatives of the Deaf Club.

“To my knowledge, this is the first time that the king and queen have been chosen from the Deaf Club,” said Andrew Bickers, director of student activities. “The Deaf Club had actually been inactive, but they came back this semester with a bang and they all did an outstanding job as participants.”

According to Bickers, the king and queen candidates had to select eight activities to participate in during the course of the week, be voted on by the student body and go through an interview process. Grijalva and Segeberg came out on top when all the final results were tallied.

Besides the crowning of the king and queen, other festivities entertained the Homecoming crowd of 2,936.

The halftime procession was led by grand marshal Dr. Chuck Wall, business professor, who began the Random Acts of Kindness campaign in Kern County.

Joining Wall were district Chancellor Dr. Walter Packard, college President Dr. Sandra Serrano, Alumni Association President Becki Whitson and BC alumnus Peter Reyes.

Members of various campus clubs threw candy and chanted as they paraded around the track. Participating clubs included the Agriculture Club, African-American Student Union, Business Club, Deaf Club, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, M.E.Ch.A., Phi Theta Kappa and the Engineers Club.

The floats were judged as they passed by selected faculty members on the home side. The winner of the float competition was the Engineers Club.

The engineers did their part in keeping the crowd fired up as they continued to catapult T-shirts to the crowd throughout the game.

The sister act of Nichole Winton Waddle and Michelle Winton Scales were among the alumni cheerleaders who entertained the crowd at Homecoming.

Waddle came all the way from Dublin, Ohio, to cheer for the ‘Gades.

“It’s awesome. I always have so much fun cheering at Homecoming,” Waddle said. “I attended Sacramento State and it’s not the same, it’s not as much fun as cheering for the ‘Gades. It’s more of a home atmosphere here.”

Waddle’s daughters, Aspen and Bailey, also joined in the fun. Scales echoed Waddle’s sentiments.

“I love coming back to cheer for the ‘Gades,” she said. “It’s always a lot of fun.”

The BC Pep Band, which included some alumni band members, provided entertainment as they played the theme from “Dragnet,” the war chant and others.

Athletics Director Jan Stuebbe added to the fun as he led the Pep Band in “Hey Baby” and also sang it, too.

“It’s my contribution to the Pep Band,” Stuebbe said. “I do this every year at Homecoming, and the same song.”

During the third quarter, the Southwest Stallions, a youth football team, was invited to stand on the BC sideline with Stuebbe as guests of the ‘Gades.

The festivities were a success, according to Bickers.

“Our vice president of activities, Josiah Faber, did an outstanding job of planning and putting together the Homecoming activities,” he said.