Marquis Flores is the new Homecoming King of Natomas High School, proving that nice guys don’t always finish last.
The 17-year-old senior lives with some developmental delays but doesn’t let them affect his love for classmates, his school spirit, or his thirst for learning – he’s a straight-A student in the NHS Independent Living Skills program, where he learns life lessons ranging from cooking to balancing a checkbook.
His attitude is fit for a king, classmates say.
“He’s really funny and outgoing,” said one classmate. “He kind of represents the school and what all ought to be.”
Marquis wore a paper crown at a campus rally hours before the NHS Homecoming Game at which he won the vote for king and Yassriah Bullard for queen.
“It’s a blessing to be nominated,” he said earlier that afternoon. “I’m real excited and happy.”
Flores is known on campus as someone who loves to high-five classmates, dance during lunch hours, and relish in Nighthawk spirit.
“I’m proud to be a Nighthawk – Caw!” he nearly shouted. Asked why classmates nominated him for Homecoming King, Flores smiled broadly, then responded good-naturedly: “Because they think I’m a good kid,” he said.
Kim Taxara, Flores’ teacher, applauded the selection. “He won for best school spirit,” she said.
Classmates smiled when asked about Flores.
“He’s nice to everyone,” one said.
Principal Mark Beebe, whose parents had special needs, said he doesn’t look at students with disabilities any differently than those without. “Everybody is a human being,” Beebe said. “We’re all unique in our own way.”
Beebe described Flores as “always smiling, always friendly, always shaking my hand, he’s kind, genuine, real – he’s all the good things we want to see in teenagers. I think he’s a true representation of Natomas High School students.”
Tonya Douglas, Flores’ aunt, said the teenager is recognized everywhere he goes in Natomas and treats everyone he meets as a friend, adding, “He meets no strangers.”
“He loves life, he does what he wants to do – he’s just a happy kid,” she said. “People see Marquis as Marquis. They don’t see anything else – just Marquis and his spirit.”
And now there’s something else to see – an NHS crown on Marquis’ head.
Long live the king.
