Homecoming is one of the most exciting experiences for students during their four-year high school journey.  The dance and football game is what normally gets all the attention, however what most people forget about is the fun week that precedes it.  A whole week of dressing up for daily themes creates a great atmosphere for what is to come the following weekend, and students dress to fulfill the motif.  However, Carson Haase, a senior from Brandon Valley High School, took Homecoming week to a whole new level by putting a spin on her Ranch Day costume.  While her friends dressed in plaid and denim, she wore a handmade Hidden Valley Ranch bottle made of cardboard.  Despite the popularity and laughs she received from her classmates, and surprisingly the world, this outgoing endeavor has a deeper meaning.

Carson Haase made a huge splash with her ranch dressing costume at her high school.  Students asked her for photos throughout the day, she was asked to make an appearance in the pep rally, and she went viral on social media within hours.  However, this kind of attention was not her motivation for the costume. Her literal interpretation of her costume for Ranch Day was influenced by her friend Brittany Corcoran, who took her own life in March.  Haase took her death very hard, as did all of Corcoran’s friends, however Haase decided to live her life to the fullest in order to honor her late friend.  “She taught me a lot of things,” Haase said. “How to be strong in bad situations (and) that it honestly doesn’t matter what people think because there will always be people that like you anyway.”  When Homecoming week came up at school, she decided to do what she believed would make her friend proud, and to show her fellow classmates her true colors.  Haase’s close friend, Payton Roesch, was one of the first people to like the photo of Haase in her salad dressing get up, and is very proud to see her being herself.  She was asked how she felt about Haase honoring Corcoran, and she only had nice things to say.  “She’s hilarious, and it’s finally getting noticed,” Roesch said. “It was literally overnight, and I think that’s the coolest thing ever. I’m lucky to be friends with the Ranch Girl.”

Haase came up with her costume idea with the help of her hockey team friends, and her dad helped her construct it.  But despite the help she received, she feels as though the true help she had in being able to express herself came from Brittany, who “always pushed me to be more outgoing and show my amazing, hilarious self.”  Haase said that she is going to continue doing things that show her true personality, like becoming Ranch Girl, to show people not to be afraid to be themselves, and to honor her late friend