As Waynesburg University students, alumni, faculty and staff cheered on the Waynesburg football team’s comeback win against Carnegie Mellon, Brian Drake and Jordyn Wyllie basked in the glory of becoming the 2018 homecoming king and queen, respectively. While Drake and Wyllie applied for homecoming king and queen for different reasons, they can agree on one fact: the journey contained as much fun as winning the court.
Drake, a senior criminal justice major, applied for the court for the fun of it. Seeing if he would make it and who would join him on the court was what he looked forward to.
“It was a lot of fun, everyone on the court was awesome,” said Drake. “We all jerked around with each other and took pictures together. We are all pretty good friends, all of us. It was more of a good gathering of good people and [we] didn’t really care who would win.”
While winning the title of homecoming king was a fun experience, Drake chooses to focus on the times of fellowship with his friends. Attending Upper Room on Sunday nights and working as a resident assistant for two years are the times he looks back fondly on. For Drake, “it’s all the people you surround yourself with.”
Wyllie, a senior early childhood in special education major, almost did not apply for the ballot. While she never planned to pursue, let alone win, homecoming queen, she will never forget the journey to the title, thanks to her friends.
“All my friends hyped it up,” said Wyllie. “They put it on their Snapchat and Instagram, and when we’re walking across campus. [It] was kind of embarrassing, but I appreciated it.”
Being homecoming queen was an experience Wyllie “will never forget.” She was more excited about her parents’ experience, however, as they have not seen Waynesburg University come together as a community.
“My favorite part was having my family there when campus is alive,” said Wyllie. “They come to volleyball games, but there is not a lot of turnout to volleyball games. So to see everybody and all my friends at the football game was really cool to show them what my home [here] is.”
For both Wyllie and Drake, senior year is halfway over, and their time here at the university went “too fast,” as Wyllie said.
“I am recognizing ‘lasts.’ If it’s the time I’ll play in a volleyball game, or if it’s the last homecoming I’ll be at as a student,” said Wyllie. “I am excited when I go to all these events, and at the end I’m like ‘oh wait, that was the last time I am ever going to do that.’”
Wyllie said there are also some “firsts” seniors experience. These “firsts” involve stepping out into the workforce, taking all their education and applying it to their careers.
While neither senior has solidified a job after graduation, they are considering all opportunities. Wyllie hopes to obtain “a teaching position somewhere in the state of Pennsylvania.”
Drake has a main goal like Wyllie, but he has to start somewhere else before he can reach the position he wants.
“My main goal is federal law enforcement agencies,” said Drake. “But right now I am looking for probation [officer], parole [officer] or maybe a police officer.”
As final words to his fellow students, Drake said to not waste time here at Waynesburg University, either academically or socially.
“Don’t take this place for granted. Enjoy as much as you can.”