Candidates Recognize Importance and Opportunity of being on Homecoming Court

STORY BY SHIANNE FIGGE
PHOTOS BY ALLISON SCHWEIZER

This past week from September 24th through September 29th, FHSU held their annual homecoming celebration with the theme of Welcome to the Jungle. During homecoming week, there was a homecoming carnival, Oktoberfest, alumni information, the homecoming parade, student organization competitions, and lastly the homecoming royalty.

This year’s homecoming king candidates were Adam Daniel, Cyrus Haynes, Hayden Hutchison, Roy Koech, and Dane Murzyn. This year’s queen candidates were Allie Frisbie, Kaylin Haines, Cassidy Locke, Lucy Partlow-Loyall, and Kelly Strecker.

TMN reached out all of the candidates to get to know more about their organizational involvement on campus, what the experience of being on the homecoming court is like for themselves and their organization they are representing, their favorite part of the homecoming festivities, and what each candidate learned from being on the homecoming court.

Unfortunately, not all candidates were able to respond; however, we did receive responses from all king candidates as well as queen candidate Allie Frisbie.

Homecoming king candidate, Dane Murzyn was representing the University Activities Board though he is involved in multiple student organizations on campus.

For Muryzn, “being on the Homecoming court… is a testament to what I have done here during my time at Fort Hays, and is also a testament to what the University Activities Board.. has done to help me develop and grow as a person and a leader. To be able to be a part of this fantastic and well-deserving Homecoming Court is also a challenge to do more quality work for this great university…but also the University Activities Board. My favorite part of Homecoming is the bonfire we have. It is such a splendid and awesome sight, and it really provides that spark to get everyone enthusiastic with school spirit for the weekend.”

As Muryzn described his experience on the Homecoming Court, he said that there are multiple ways to stand out and succeed at Fort Hays State University.

“We all are making our own unique impact in different areas of campus…The difference in interests and passions is what makes Fort Hays State University the well-rounded and great university it is today…it is receiving a family, an education, and a place to call home.”

Homecoming king candidate Adam Daniel was representing Collegiate DECA but is also currently involved in Eta Sigma Delta, THM Travelers Club, Tigers Undergraduate Fellows Program, and the theater departments for the fall and spring play.

For Daniel, being on the homecoming court means “being a representative of the school I love. I feel like I embody what it means to be a tiger and am honored to be on the homecoming court. For my organization, I hope it gets our name out there. Collegiate DECA is a good organization where I can learn as well as have fun, so being able to represent them makes me proud.  My favorite part of homecoming is definitely the bonfire. Everyone coming together, chanting, cheering, and singing is always fun. Plus who does love a huge fire?”

Daniel describes his homecoming experience and mentions “the thing I learned by being on the homecoming court is how involved the student body is with homecoming. Seeing a school come together for such an event no matters people background, major or whatever else, it honestly fun. It makes you feel like you’re really a part of the large Tiger family.”

Homecoming king candidate, Hayden Hutchison was representing Student VIP Ambassadors but is also involved in Chapter President of Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization.

For Hutchison, being on the homecoming court, “.. is an honor to represent as Royalty from our organization and the University.”

He also says his favorite part about homecoming is “all the activities that FHSU students and alumni can talk about their college experience”.

Hutchison has also learned “how honorable being a finalist for Homecoming King means as a student for such a tight-knit university.”

Homecoming king candidate, Roy Koech was representing the Criminal Justice Club. He has also been involved in African Ambassadors, the United Methodist Campus Ministry, Tigers in Service, and the Student Government Association.

As Koech describes his homecoming royalty experience, he says that “…[Criminal Justice Club] has shaped me into the leader that I am. My favorite part of homecoming is seeing everyone express how much they love this school, both with words and actions. It makes me tear up just thinking about it! One of the coolest things I’ve learned is how connected this school is! We are a very tight community, especially for the population we boast, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!”.

The last homecoming king candidate, Cyrus Haynes has been involved in Alpha Kappa Psi, Collegiate DECA, Men’s Basketball as a manager, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, THM Travel Club, Eta Sigma Delta, Wide World of Sports and Outdoor Adventure Learning Community, and McMindes Hall Council.

Haynes also described his experience of being homecoming royalty.

“Being Homecoming Royalty means exemplifying everything that Fort Hays State University has to offer. They demonstrate everything that Fort Hays stands for. It is about representing the University to the community of Hays and showing pride in the opportunities we are offered. My favorite part of homecoming was the parade and getting to see all of the kids lined up along the way. I’ve learned that you may think you know a lot of people, but even though Fort Hays State University is small there are so many more people to meet and make connections with” said Haynes.

Homecoming queen candidate, Allie Frisbie was representing Alpha Kappa Psi and has also been involved in the Fort Hays Musical – Footloose, Women’s Chorale, Catholic Disciples, Intramurals, and Track and Field.

Frisbie describes her favorite part of homecoming as “…uniting the past and the present.  It’s about tradition. Homecoming fosters an opportunity for every component of the university to come together to celebrate as a whole.  The sense of brotherhood and unity is what I like most about homecoming…” said Allie Frisbie, one of the homecoming queen candidates.

Frisbie describes her experience on the homecoming court as “…A LOT of work, but I have enjoyed every second of it.  It’s an incredible and stressful ride, but as one of my fellow brothers in AKPsi said, “soak it in, enjoy it, cherish the moment.”  I cannot stress this enough. College goes by quickly and homecoming week goes by WAY faster. Secondly, if students think they could never make an impact, they are WRONG!  Look at me. I am a small-town farm girl from the middle-of-nowhere Kansas! My advice to you is to get involved and always continue to strive to be the best person you can be.”

Saturday night, the homecoming royalty was crowned. The 2018 Homecoming King and Queen are Roy Koech and Cassidy Locke.

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