Mums are a big chrysanthemum done up with glitter, ribbons, and decorations that create a very large corsage. Homecoming mums have been a tradition in Texas since the 1930s, and the tradition started with people giving their extravagant mums to their dates in honor of the game. 

Bowie’s Key club meets monthly, hosting service activities for students to participate in both on and off campus. One of the big service activities the club hosts every year is the mum making for the SCORE students. This year, on September 23rd, the club met up in Ms. Wiedmeyer’s room to make the mums. Aine Flaherty, a key club officer, helped set up the event. 

“There were definitely more volunteers than we anticipated, which we were so grateful for,” Flaherty said. “It helped us get the work done even faster, and we were able to make 30 mums for the SCORE students!”

Many students, such as Senior Jenni Trevino, had never made a mum before. Trevino thought starting the mum was the hardest part, but loved the way her mums turned out in the end. 

 “First, I had to take a mum back and hot glue lots of ribbon to make it circular,” Trevino said. “I also added decorative beads down the side to create the hanging portion of the mum. I finished gluing a decorative piece in the middle.” 

Mum Makers were encouraged to personalize the mums to the kids they were making them for. Adding stickers, their names, or symbols were ways students could personalize the mums. Junior Daniel Riley liked having freedom to customize the mums how he wanted. 

 “Having full freedom to do whatever pattern and colors we wanted made it a lot easier to make the mums look nice,” Riley said. “I feel really good about the way the mums came out, and it was a lot better than I expected it to go.”

There was a lack of supplies available during the event, as there were lots of students with little supplies. Junior Liliana DeMedeiros found it challenging to get what she wanted to make the mum. 

“They ran out of flowers for the center of the mums, so I ended up having to use something else for the centerpiece,” DeMedeiros said. “Although it wasn’t what I expected, it ended up looking really good.” 

Although making the mums was a challenge for some, the key club officers and fellow club members all came together and helped each other decorate. 

“Everyone was helping out,” DeMedeiros said. “It was just fun to see everyone being engaged.” 

Many students decided to join the club to gain service hours and become more active on campus. Organizations such as the National Honor Society require community service hours, so Key Club is one of the many ways that students can gain hours.

“I joined Key Club because I needed hours for NHS,” Trevino said. “I’m very passionate about helping others and my community.”