Harper Dufrene already planned on taking the podium to lead the Hahnville High School band in its halftime show during last week’s Homecoming game at Tiger Stadium – she did not, however, expect to be doing so wearing a crown and sash.
But that’s exactly what she did, moments after the announcement that she was Hahnville’s 2026 Homecoming Queen. Dufrene quickly had to shift her focus from the excitement of receiving the crown to climbing the podium and lock in as band leader.
“I had to (flip the switch) quickly,” said Dufrene. “I wasn’t quite ready for it but I knew I had a job to do and we have to get this show done.”
Of course, it was also a pretty exciting, and very unique, experience – something that wasn’t lost on her.
“It was just an unreal experience. They were very nervous because I had my heels on and I told them, ‘No, I want to do this in my heels – I think it’ll be a once in a lifetime chance. As long as I get up and down safe, I’ll be good. And I just took it very slow. All the parents were surrounding the podium, and they were nervous for me but I was like, ‘No, I got this,’” Dufrene said.
When the crowd realized the newly crowned queen was climbing the podium, Dufrene earned a big reaction.
Admittedly a nervous performer in this setting in general, Dufrene usually blocks out the nerves by letting her mind go blank and relying on her instincts to follow what she’s practiced. This was a bit different.
“I felt very conscious of it all. I was kind of just thinking, ‘Wow, is this really happening?’” Dufrene said.
The senior drum major took the field with her fellow members of the Homecoming Court and said she had nerves about that as well, but also that she was OK with whatever way the results fell.
“I knew a lot of the girls on the court, and I really didn’t expect that it would be me,” said Dufrene. “So I was so excited to hear my name called and it was very shocking. Everything hit me at once. I had all of my friends coming up to me after we performed, and my family and the band staff and boosters, and they were so happy and excited for me. That just made me feel so loved in my community and in my family.
“Before I even walked out, although I was nervous about what he results would be, I was also already thinking of all of the tempos I had to do for the dance team song for the show, and going through all of the motions because I knew I’d be conducting.”
Dufrene began playing percussion in the fourth grade and realized quickly she loved to play music.
“We never had marching band in elementary or middle school, so Hahnville was a whole new world to me,” she said of joining the HHS band. “I fell in love with it so much more once I got to high school. And I already loved it so much,. I fell in love with the community and the culture.”
She also set a goal for herself as soon as she began her first HHS band camp as a freshman.
“I really wanted to be drum major,” she said. “And ever since, I’ve worked very hard, playing, conducting and at being a leader in the band.”
Now, she can call herself a drum major – and Homecoming Queen.
