During winter break, many students assisted Dr. Redfox with her family’s float for the San Diego Zoo for the Pasadena Rose Parade. She extended this opportunity to students in her class and those from SDHS. This experience provided students with valuable service hours and hands-on learning opportunities. Many participants learned new skills, made new friends, and gained insights they might not have discovered otherwise. On January 1st, the students who helped were able to see their float parade through the streets of Pasadena.
Freshman student Micah Houseman shared his experience in assisting with the parade float. He remarked, “I learned many new skills, such as listening to instructions from others and managing my time effectively to complete tasks.” Micah enjoyed the entire experience and particularly appreciated the opportunity to learn about building and decorating the float. He mentioned, “Collaborating with others was a lot of fun, and I also made some new friends.” Micah focused on the back of the float, where he embellished it with various flowers. During the day of the parade, he watched the event live on television with his family. Overall, Micah reflected that the experience was both enjoyable and filled with valuable learning opportunities.
Freshman and sophomore teacher Dr. Redfox shared her passion for creating parade floats, inspired by her husband, a float designer. After working with Artistic Entertainment Services on the San Diego Zoo float, she plans to continue this work. She invites students to assist with floral designs over the break for experience and service hours. “I had several students come down and assist on different floats, and afterward, I sign off on their hours,” she explained. She intends to extend this opportunity to students for next year’s Rose Parade floats.
Freshman student Abigail Kwang shared her experience decorating a float for the parade. She discussed various aspects of the design process, stating, “I glued many plants together, including flowers and different types of greenery.” This experience taught her how to effectively glue items while keeping them organized. Abigail also mentioned how she collaborated with others who attended the event, saying, “I worked with a couple of other people who came down to Pasadena.” During her time there, she not only worked as part of a team but also made a few new friends. She learned many new skills throughout the process and found it exciting to see the float she helped decorate on TV, especially as it won sweepstakes for best float in the Rose Parade.
Freshman student Clair Kim shared her experience, stating, “I liked this experience very much; I learned a lot of new skills.” She had a wonderful time visiting Pasadena to assist Dr. Redfox with the San Diego Zoo float. Some of the tasks she helped with included working on flowers, plants, decorations, and more. She thoroughly enjoyed her time there and mentioned that she plans to come back next year to help out again.
Overall, many students who helped with the float for the Rose Parade gained valuable experience and learned new skills from Dr. Redfox and others.
