2019 Homecoming court announced

Waynesburg University’s 2019 Homecoming Court was recently announced, with 10 total seniors eligible to be crowned king and queen at the upcoming homecoming football game, scheduled for Oct. 5.

The court includes five females: Heidi Dziak, Naomi Swaney, Hannah Sembower, Rebekah Monkern and Alexis Taylor. The five senior males elected for court are Tre Thomas, Harrison Scott, Jordan Wherthey, Thomas Faye and Nic Burgess. 

The 10 students were elected for homecoming court following a vote held by the entire student body. This year the members of the court were announced at WU Voice, a singing competition held every Friday Sept. 20-Oct. 4. 

Michelle Keith, graduate assistant for Student Services, assisted in the execution of the voting process for the homecoming court, as well as the announcement at WU Voice. The members of the court were unveiled at WU Voice to spread awareness for the event and draw in students who might have otherwise not attended, Keith said.

“It really gets people excited,” she said. 

Over 44 members of the senior class ran for court, which is an unusually high number, said Keith. This spike in the number of candidates was likely due to a combination of a large amount of interest from the class itself and a high number of males requesting to be nominated on court.

“There were nearly as many males as females that ran,” Keith said. “That is pretty unusual.”

Students were able to cast their ballots for court Sept. 17-18 at Benedum Dining Hall and the Beehive during lunch hours. These times and locations were strategically selected to catch a maximum amount of students, Keith said. 

Keith and other staff from the Student Services office had the laborious task of tallying the more than 400 votes cast by the student body.

Dziak, senior accounting major, was one of the ladies announced to be on the court. Dziak said she is absolutely honored to be on the court. She didn’t campaign, but rather slowly built friendships and made many acquaintances during her time at the university.

“I am a very extroverted person,” Dziak said. “I love talking to people.”

The thought of gaining a significant fraction of the over 400 votes cast was meaningful to Dziak, who took it as a symbol of all of the relationships she has been able to maintain throughout the student body. 

“You know that you have somehow touched them,” Dziak said. “It shows how much you’ve impacted people.”

Dziak, who has always wanted to be homecoming queen, thought it would merely remain a dream after her high school election, which she said was based largely on looks, wealth and popularity rather than who truly would best represent the class and deserved the honor.

“Here, they don’t care what you have, they care who you are,” Dziak said. “Everyone is so kind.”

Dziak truly loves and cares for the university, student body and alumni network and acting as a symbol for the university as a part of the homecoming court is an honor, she said. 

“It is a very special place, and to be able to represent it in this way is so amazing,” she said.

As the upcoming homecoming game and announcement of king and queen draws closer, the court remains a positive and friendly group.

“It’s not even a competition,” Dziak said. “We truly want everyone to win.”