Episode 170: Meet our Daffodil Princesses

As Spring Break approaches, we sit down with our district's three Daffodil Princesses to hear about their favorite teachers, plans for the future, and much more! We also feature one of our most surprising Useless Trivia segments to date! 

--TRANSCRIPT--

Conor: Hey everybody, I’m Conor. That’s Doug. And this is the Bethel School District Presents podcast. And as usual, we have a fantastic show for you. I will be our intrepid reporter going to all three of our comprehensive high schools to speak with this year’s amazing Daffodil Princesses. But before that, Doug, it wouldn’t be our show if we didn’t kick things off with a little bit of useless trivia. You look like you got a good one primed up. What do you got?

Doug: I did find something very useless but very interesting. This is from Business Insider. For a brief moment in 1989, PepsiCo, Pepsi, possessed one of the largest military naval fleets in the entire world.

Conor: Why would they have this and how did they procure it?

Doug: These are fantastic questions. This is the 80s, you know Russia’s involved. So, in 1989, the USSR traded Pepsi a fleet of, get this, 17 submarines, a cruiser, a frigate, and a destroyer just to keep Pepsi flowing into Russia.

Conor: Wow.

Doug: So this collection of—my math is over 20 vessels—technically gave Pepsi the sixth largest navy in the world at the time before they sold the fleet for scrap value.

Conor: So all that and they still couldn’t overtake Coca-Cola. Wow, that’s—yeah. It was a rough decade for Pepsi. Conor, I challenge you to beat my useless trivia.

Conor: Well, I won’t because that’s an all-timer. But mine’s not bad either. So Doug, did you know that in 1970, the government in Oregon decided to remove a whale from the beach using dynamite?

Doug: I did not know this. This—sounds like it would have made the news, I bet.

Conor: I’m sure it did make the news. But so here’s the background. A 45-foot sperm whale carcass washed up in Florence, Oregon, and to get rid of it, the highway division used a half a ton of dynamite. So their rationale was, bizarrely, that the whale would just kind of disintegrate into the ether. And in fact, it didn’t. And in fact, it just blew blubber chunks—

Doug: Oh my god.

Conor: —raining down onto passersby. Blubber chunks everywhere, folks.

Doug: This is—such a disturbing image.

Conor: To make it even more disturbing—

Doug: It gets worse.

Conor: Those thunderous chunks of flying blubber actually destroyed parked cars up to a half mile away. My source on that is the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Doug: Well, I love that piece of trivia. That is also an all-timer. We’re starting out real strong here. Well, Conor, I look forward to this particular show every single year. You venture out to all of our comprehensive high schools, find the Daffodil Princesses, and find out more about them. And that’s really awesome. I love that we put this show up before the Daffodil Parade in Puyallup. So, let’s kick things off with your visit to Spanaway Lake High School and Princess Zoey.

Conor: So Zoey, what made you want to become a Daffodil Princess?

Zoey: Something that made me want to become a Daffodil Princess is in elementary school I always saw the Daffodil Princesses come, and it just seemed like such a fun thing to be a part of. And I’ve had past princesses as friends and they tell me all about the scholarship program and how it’s really helped them after their high school plans. So yeah.

Conor: It’s definitely an awesome program. And who at this school or any of the schools you’ve attended along the way has inspired you?

Zoey: I would say specifically at Spanaway Lake, Miss Bonner. She was the past coordinator for princesses. She definitely helped push me to be able to do this. And then my two advisors, they were also so, so helpful in the whole process of encouraging me and making me stay strong. But outside of this, Princess Clara from Graham-Kapowsin High School really helped me with knowing what to do and what to say and how—what to expect from every day.

Conor: That’s awesome to get help from someone who’s been there. What’s your favorite thing about Spanaway Lake High School?

Zoey: I would say the culture and just overall how diverse our school is. It really helps everybody come together and have a real sense of community, which I think the Daffodil Festival is all about.

Conor: Very cool. And what are your post-graduation plans?

Zoey: After graduation, I plan on attending Boise State University and I’ll be in the honors program on a four-year scholarship. And I’ll be pursuing early elementary education.

Conor: Wow, that’s awesome and congratulations. So, we’re moving on to the lightning round. What is your least favorite food?

Zoey: Hmm. I really, really dislike raw tomatoes. They’re disgusting. Other than that, I would just say, yeah, anything with raw tomatoes or raw onions is just not for me.

Conor: Tomatoes, that’s a take. I haven’t heard that one. Any pets?

Zoey: No, I used to have two dogs, but then when I moved to Spanaway we had to get rid of them. So no pets.

Conor: All right. What books, if any, are you reading right now?

Zoey: I’m not reading any books, but as far as like media in general, I’m into Grey’s Anatomy right now.

Conor: Fantastic. What is your dream spring break travel destination?

Zoey: Greece, completely—like all the way. I love Italy and Greece and everything about it.

Conor: Yeah, those do look amazing. Okay, what YouTube or podcast series are you watching or listening to?

Zoey: Hmm. I don’t really listen to podcasts or anything. As far as like music, I listen to a lot of like Harry Styles or SZA, just stuff like that, but not really podcasts.

Conor: Except for the Bethel School District Presents podcast.

Zoey: Oh, of course, of course, totally.

Conor: I knew you were forgetting that one. What’s one thing that is definitely on your bucket list?

Zoey: Just to travel the world. I’ve already been to Europe, and so traveling as much as I can is the biggest thing for me and getting to experience those types of experiences.

Conor: Absolutely. So, here’s the last one. If you had to sing karaoke in front of the entire school, what song would you pick?

Zoey: Oh, easy question. Super Bass by Nicki Minaj. That’s my go-to karaoke song.

Conor: Very bold. I love it. Well, thank you Zoey and good luck in the future.

Zoey: Thank you.

Doug: Well done, Conor. I love the addition of asking them those lightning round questions. I think you and I should participate.

Conor: Yeah, that was fun, right? So let me hit you with the lightning round since I’m the lightning master apparently. So Doug, what’s your least favorite food?

Doug: I don’t like this question because there’s not a food I’ve met that I don’t like. Brussels sprouts used to be on the list, but I’ve had them recently—love them, especially when they’re roasted.

Conor: Do you have any pets? I know you do. Tell us about your pets, I should say.

Doug: I do. Pancake the wonder dog. Also have Louie the cat and Meep the cat.

Conor: What book are you reading right now?

Doug: I’m reading Winston Churchill in 100 Objects. Really cool book that shows artifacts and has a story that goes along and the whole thing is told in the progression of his birth to his death.

Conor: Sounds fascinating. What is your dream spring break travel destination?

Doug: I would go to Ireland right now if you let me.

Conor: What TV, YouTube, podcast series are you watching or listening to?

Doug: Oh man, and you’ve heard me talk about this and I can’t get into it right now on this podcast because there’s not enough time, but my wife and I are watching Cheers for the first time. Man, it is not great.

Conor: It didn’t age well, Doug said.

Doug: But we’re in season five and there’s still more to go.

Conor: What’s one thing left on your bucket list?

Doug: One thing left on my bucket list is actually flying in a seaplane and flying in a hot air balloon. Two things I’ve never done.

Conor: And if you had to sing karaoke in front of everyone at the entire admin retreat this summer, what song would you pick?

Doug: If I could bring my wife along, we do a dynamite version of Love Shack.

Conor: And I have heard that version several times actually, and I gotta say, it’s better than the original.

Doug: Well, thank you, that’s—that’s very kind. Bethel High School is up next with Princess Mya. Conor, take us away.

Conor: So Mya, what made you want to become a Daffodil Princess?

Mya: That’s a really good question. I would say just being around Pierce County. I’ve been a part of the Bethel School District my entire life, so it’s just been super great to represent my high school and the Bethel School District as a whole as a Daffodil Princess.

Conor: Fantastic. And has there been a teacher or teachers along the way, whether here at Bethel High or anywhere in your scholastic career, who’s been especially inspiring for you?

Mya: Yeah, I would definitely say my science teacher, Miss Jennifer Morrison. She is just absolutely amazing and her science program is what truly has really led my future in healthcare.

Conor: Great shoutout, Miss Morrison. What’s your favorite thing about Bethel High School?

Mya: I really like just the community that we’ve made at Bethel. I feel like it’s just a really tight-knit community and everybody’s really friendly with one another and it’s just a great school to be a part of.

Conor: Absolutely, I can attest to that. And what are you going to do after you graduate? You got any big plans?

Mya: I do. So, I will be graduating high school with my medical assistant certification through my schooling at the Pierce County Skill Center. So, I will be working as a medical assistant while attending school part-time to pursue nursing.

Conor: That is really, really cool. We’re going to move on to our favorite part, lightning round. So Mya, what is your least favorite food?

Mya: I don’t like meatloaf.

Conor: Do you have any pets?

Mya: I do. I have two dogs, Rocky and Reese.

Conor: Awesome. And what book are you reading right now?

Mya: Uh—I’m not a very great reader, but the last book I read was probably Harry Potter around Christmas time.

Conor: You can’t beat that, it’s a classic. Okay, what’s your dream spring break travel destination?

Mya: Probably the Mall of America in Minnesota because I love shopping and I love giant malls.

Conor: Very cool. You got both covered there. What TV show, YouTube show, podcast series are you watching right now?

Mya: I’m watching the MrBeast Beast Games right now and it’s actually very interesting.

Conor: All right. What’s one thing on your bucket list that you want to get accomplished?

Mya: I think I would just like to be able to talk to more people and just be around a more diverse demographic of people.

Conor: Very cool. Okay, this is a tough one. If you had to sing karaoke in front of the entire school, what song you going to pick?

Mya: I would sing Fight Song by Rachel Platten. I think that’s her last name. I don’t know, I just used to sing that a lot when I was little and I feel like that’s the song I would be least likely to mess up.

Conor: Awesome Mya, well good luck in the future.

Mya: Thank you so much.

Doug: Well, that was awesome. Love hearing from Princess Mya. And Conor, you’re up for the lightning round. Let’s go. What is your least favorite food?

Conor: I might have mentioned this before. I just don’t like the texture of mushrooms.

Doug: I think that’s fair. Do you have any pets?

Conor: Not at the moment. RIP my boy Cooper.

Doug: We loved Cooper. What book are you reading right now?

Conor: I am reading a fascinating book called Poems of the Night by Jorge Luis Borges.

Doug: What is your dream spring break travel destination?

Conor: I’m going with Ireland. I’m leaving right now if you say it’s okay, and you’re my boss, so this is binding.

Doug: Then I will remain silent on the issue, though it does sound like a great idea. What TV, YouTube, podcast series are you watching right now?

Conor: It’s not a series, but I am watching March Madness NCAA basketball.

Doug: What is one thing left on your bucket list?

Conor: Well, thankfully I’ve been able to knock off a lot of things on my bucket list already, but one thing I haven’t done yet that I would love to do is drive across the country and see all of this beautiful country of ours.

Doug: All right, final question. If you had to sing karaoke in front of a large group of folks that you personally know and work with, what song would you sing?

Conor: As it happens, I have done that, and the song I did sing to much acclaim was Wicked Game by Chris Isaak.

Doug: Our final princess today is Abby over at Graham-Kapowsin High School. Conor, take it away.

Conor: So Abby, what made you want to become a Daffodil Princess?

Abby: Well, you know, there were a lot of different things that made me want to become the Daffodil Princess, but mainly, I am a Running Start student, and so as a Running Start student I don’t get to be at my school as much and so it’s harder to connect with my community. So Daffodil was kind of my way of reconnecting and getting back involved with my community.

Conor: Has there been a teacher at this school or any of the schools you’ve gone to that has especially inspired you in your journey?

Abby: Um, definitely. I would say there has been a lot. I would say specifically Miss Fuller, Mr. Ledbetter, and Miss Sinnis from Liberty.

Conor: Nice, shoutout to those guys. What’s your favorite thing about this school?

Abby: I love our diversity here. A lot of the times GK tends to get kids from all around the area, not just from specific middle schools. So, I love that we get a bunch of different people here.

Conor: Nice. And what are your plans after graduation?

Abby: I would like to go study at a four-year university somewhere preferably out of Washington, and then I hope to study abroad for a couple of years.

Conor: So, this is lightning round, so this is—this is when it gets real. All right Abby, what’s your least favorite food?

Abby: I don’t know if I have one. I think maybe like anchovies?

Conor: Any pets?

Abby: I have two cats, Ichigo and Yuzu.

Conor: What book are you reading right now?

Abby: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

Conor: What is your dream spring break travel destination?

Abby: Thailand.

Conor: What TV show, YouTube show, podcast series are you watching or listening to right now?

Abby: Recently, I have been watching New Girl.

Conor: What’s one thing that you just know that’s on your bucket list that you have to accomplish at some point?

Abby: I want to visit all the countries.

Conor: If you had to sing karaoke in front of the entire school, what song would you choose?

Abby: I would sing Valerie.

Conor: Thank you so much and good luck in the future.

Abby: Of course, thank you so much.

Doug: Well, this has been a really fun show. Great to hear from all the princesses and I hope this year’s Daffodil Parade is outstanding and the weather is fantastic for it. We will be back in two weeks after spring break with another great episode.