Dreyfoos saw a change in leadership on May 9, when American actor, rapper, comedian and entrepreneur Nick Cannon claimed his title as Dreyfoos’ ceremonial “Principal for the Day,” which was made possible by a contest through the South Florida radio station, Power 96.
Communications teacher Andy Hernandez organized support for the event. He nominated Dreyfoos for the contest, encouraged students and staff to vote and gathered information about the competition from the disk jockeys at Power 96.
“My friend [from Power 96] sent me a text to let me know that there was a competition going on where Nick Cannon would come to a [South Florida] school and be the principal for the day,” Mr. Hernandez said. “The contest started on March 21, and we only had a week [to get votes]. I went to the website and nominated Dreyfoos, and within a week we succeeded with over 3,000 votes.”
Mr. Cannon arrived on campus at 11:00 a.m., followed by an entourage of security guards and administration. He performed for students during lunch in the cafeteria as he promoted his upcoming album, “White People Party Music.”
“It was so exciting to have Nick Cannon come to our school,” theatre sophomore Julia Stern said. “His performance during lunch really got all of the students involved and enthusiastic. People were standing on tables and screaming for him.”
After his lunch performance, Mr. Cannon went to the principal’s conference room, where 10 selected students were waiting for his appearance. Each of the students was filmed to appear on “TeenNick Top 10,” a weekly roundup of what’s hot in music and television, hosted by Mr. Cannon.
“[Mr. Cannon] thanked us for bringing him to our school, and he complimented us on our talents,” communications senior Kevin Levine said. “He then took pictures with each of us individually, and then a group picture. He signed cameras, phone cases and yearbooks for students, staff and reporters from News Channel 5.”
Mr. Cannon then went into Principal Susan Atherley’s office, where he propped his feet onto the desk and posed for photos with his honorary “Principal for the Day” title.
“Everyone [from Dreyfoos] voted in the contest as a family, which is awesome because I couldn’t have pulled this off and brought Nick Cannon here on my own,” Mr. Hernandez said. “It takes a team, and this proved that Dreyfoos has teamwork.”