Matt Pederson is a senior secondary education-social sciences major from North Platte, Neb.
"It is an honor to be nominated for homecoming king, and it would be great to be part of such an amazing tradition," Pederson said.
Pederson is the Sigma Phi Epsilon president, a member of the Innocents Society and a College of Education and Human Sciences student senator.
"I feel really fortunate to be able to walk out on the field with all of the other very worthy candidates," he said.
Student athlete Amanda Gates, a senior communications major, was the captain of the Cornhusker volleyball team in 2008 and served on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.
"I think it's a huge honor just to be on the court. The caliber of people I get to stand up there with are all great ambassadors for the university," said the Columbus native.
She values finding balance in her life between being a student, an athlete, finding time for herself and giving back to the community.
Alex Wolf is a senior agricultural economics major, from Albion, Neb.
"I want to be homecoming king because I want to help promote school spirit and pride and represent the University in the best way possible," he said.
Wolf's activities include being the Interfraternity Council president, the Farmhouse fraternity vice president and an Innocents Society member.
"I think that I should be homecoming king because I have a tremendous amount of passion for the university and our athletic teams," Wolf said, "and I can continue to instill this passion into the student body."
For Cara Waldo, the traditions of UNL are not an unfamiliar thing. Her parents and grandparents were Cornhuskers, and now she is too.
"Having my family at the game to support me is what I'm really looking forward to. My family has been going to UNL for generations," she said. "My family being there makes Homecoming more exciting."
Waldo is from DeWitt, Neb., and is majoring in political science and international studies. She has taught English in Kenya and said that education is something she truly values.
"Teaching in Kenya gave me the opportunity to see some of the education disparities and made me even more thankful for my own education," she said.
David Painter, is a senior chemical engineering major from Columbus, Neb.
"I feel pretty lucky to even be a candidate," Painter said. "It has been a lot of fun, a big honor, and my family and friends have gotten a real kick out of it."
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2 comments
So, when it comes to royalty, Africans, Africans in Diaspora, African-Americans and citizens with African origin knows exactly what it means to be in a battle for royalty.
I understand that the University is a categorized as a “Predominantly White Institution” (PWI) however for “colored” people like me coming here is a sense of pride to be a husker. However, the arrays of students nominated for homecoming royalty fails to show the array of backgrounds as your article indicated; and it also fails the diversity test that the institution is trying to portray to attract best talent in terms of manpower and students.
I do not what the criteria are for homecoming King and Queen Nominations, but what I do know is that the nominees are not representative of the student population in this Husker nation. We should not pretend it is… and your article does a mis-service to that!