It's A Good Day To Be King 👑

A group picture of the 2023 Homecoming Court and friends

Last week was the annual Homecoming weekend for Ohio Northern University. This is a time of celebration of those who have graduated from our university in the past and have come back to catch up with old friends and new students. For current students, our various organizations host tables and events to catch up with our former members and show off to the community what we've been up to. But one event in particular celebrates those in the community whose peers have elevated them as a point of pride for the whole university to see: The Homecoming Court.

The Homecoming Court is a group of 10 students elected by their peers to represent their organization and stand for a chance to be crowned homecoming royalty. This is a campus-wide event that draws in all students to decide who they want to represent the spirit of ONU. It is a small and short event time wise, but it is special nonetheless. Especially for me when this was never something I imagined myself doing in the past, let alone winning the crown!

Don't get me wrong, I wanted to win more than anything! I am aware I have a good reputation amongst my peers and the community beyond that. I've made a name for myself just being myself and kind to those around me. But much of that reputation only came within the past year or two when I really became more active in the community. Until the end of my sophomore year or so I was much more reserved and quieter than I am now. I didn't have nearly as much confidence and was fairly shy. But then I made the effort to put myself out there more socially and interact with everyone I could even if I was nervous. I also became the leader of a fraternity and other organizations on campus, so I gained the confidence in myself and my abilities I had lacked before. And I guess in the end it paid off! 

When I won the nomination from the first round of voting I was so amazed! Even if I didn't win the royalty, I was already excited I got to be on the court with friends and others I already knew. And on top of that I got to do many things I would never have done like ride on the trolley at the beginning of the homecoming parade, get special homecoming court attire (a sash and a boutonniere), and stand in front of a stadium full of my friends and family to be recognized as a true representative of the community. The energy on that field was so intense standing there as we waited to hear the results of the vote. And then...the names of the 2023 ONU Homecoming Royalty were announced.

Faith Hampton and Michael Gallagher

I won homecoming royalty! It took me a second for it to set in that it was my name that was called because of the immediate wall of cheering that happened. But once it clicked I couldn't help but smile and laugh. I did it! I became ONU's Homecoming King! And Faith is such a good person to win Homecoming Queen with. I didn't know much about her before the day of the parade, but from what I have learned she is a very sweet and strong person, she's going to achieve a lot in her future. 

This is easily my favorite day of senior year so far. It's still so surreal that I am the homecoming king of the place I have called home for the past couple of years. Now I go back to my regular classes and life as normal, but I will always have the memory of that day.

It's a good day to be a king.