Penny Queen is a tradition that happens annually during Mission Week. To be a Penny Queen nominee, interested students write a letter to their class, stating reasons why they would be a good candidate. Then, each class will fill out a google form and nominate one student to represent their class in the competition.  In years past, seniors typically win, but once in a while an underclassman can win the coveted crown.

Winning Penny Queen takes effort from not only the nominee, but the entire class as well. Contributions from the whole class set apart the winners from the losers. Students win Penny Queen by their class raising the most money, total, during Mission Week.

Mrs. Leigh LaMonica has been part of this tradition for a while, as she is the senior class moderator.

“Penny Queen is a long-standing tradition at SJA. The Penny Queen is announced, and she represents the class who raised the most money for the CSJ missions. It’s a really fun tradition,” Mrs. LaMonica said. 

This year five students were nominated: freshman Nora Buhr, sophomores Paige Jackson and Annie Malloy, junior Lily Claney, and senior Olivia Spalitto. With a tight competition between the freshman and seniors, the seniors, once again, were awarded with the crown.

“Winning Penny Queen brought me such immense joy. Not only was I thrilled to cheer on my fellow seniors, but we also raised the most money for the missions! I am in love with St. Joe, especially my class, so winning Penny queen was such a gratifying experience,” Olivia said.

Despite getting second, the freshman provided tough competition that no one expected. Nora Buhr represented the freshman class with much dignity.

“It was crazy to beat the juniors and sophomores! I was honestly very shocked. It was a team effort and a lot of freshmen made some very good foods to help our class. I was honored to be a part of it,” Nora said.