By the end of this week, there will be a new king and queen in town.
It’s that time of year again — Homecoming Week — and that means two members of this year’s Homecoming Court will be crowned King and Queen Saturday at Ohio Stadium before the football game.
“Homecoming Court is designed to be ambassadors of the University for the community, student body, and alumni outreach,” Josh Harraman, adviser to the Homecoming Court said. “This year’s Court represents all that Ohio State has to offer.”
Each spring, students that want to be on Homecoming Court fill out an application and are interviewed by Ohio State faculty, staff and alumni. The students are chosen based on their academics, involvement, and service to the university, and then the student body can vote online for the winners. Out of more than a hundred applicants, 22 students were picked for this year’s court.
Katie Rupert, the only third-year student to make Court, considers it a “tremendous honor” to have been selected.
“Nowhere else would I be provided with such unique opportunities and be surrounded by such incredible people,” Rupert said.
The students found out they made it when members of last year’s court came to them in person and surprised them with the news. It was especially a surprise for Homecoming Queen nominee, Stephanie Stelmaschuk, who was taken out of the midde of a staff meeting at Dracket Tower to hear the news.
“The 2008 Homecoming Court notified us that we were selected for Homecoming Court 2009 by hunting us down and kidnapping us, literally,” Stelmaschuk said. “They found out where we were on kidnapping night and stole us out of whatever we were doing.”
Homecoming Queen nominee Lauren Luffy wasn’t even in the country when she found out she made court, as she was studying abroad in Italy.
“I actually got a message on Facebook chat from the 2008 Homecoming King Scott Dudis, who wanted to call me while I was in Rome,” Luffy said. “I gave him a number that he could reach me at, and while waiting for him to call, I suddenly realized the news he could possibly have for me. I have never been so ecstatic in my life.”
All of the students on court are involved in a variety of clubs and activities, and many of the students work on campus as ambassadors, orientation leaders, resident advisors and some do research. More than half of the students on court are involved in the prestigious honors societies Mortar Board and SPHINX.
The group also has a variety of talents. Nominee for Queen Emily Madden has used her major in Fashion and Merchandising to help her start her own jewelry business, Miss Em’s. Ameer Hmeidan, nominee for King, swears he is the next Justin Timberlake.
“I can beatbox pretty well,” Hmeidan said. “No lie, you should hear me.”
Being on Homecoming Court isn’t all about who wins King or Queen. The group spends lots of time together at events for the university, like going to the Involvement Fair, Convocation and participating in many Homecoming Week events. The court will be in the Homecoming Parade Saturday, and before Skull Session that morning they will have a Homecoming Reunion with Homecoming Court alumni, the judges for court, and Honors and Scholars alumni.
Besides all the activities that they get to participate in, many members of the court agree that the best part of being on court is being able to hang out with the rest of the candidates.
Andrew DeLong, nominee for King, said he’s proud to be in the company of the court and believes it’s a great honor for them to be able to represent OSU.
“Hopefully folks who maybe aren’t as closely tied to the university can look at any one of us 22 [members of the Court] and see the great things that not just us, but every student is doing at Ohio State,” DeLong said.
While students are unable to vote for King and Queen (voting ended Oct. 15), they can still learn more about the 2009 Homecoming Court at homecoming.osu.edu.
