Major Journalism and Political Science
Why did you apply to be on homecoming court?
My chapter sent out a notification that this was going out and thought it would be a really cool opportunity to be a part of something so iconic to IU.
What’s your favorite homecoming activity?
First of all, I just think the atmosphere in general on campus throughout the whole week is really cool. People are really excited and to have all of these visitors of people who have been here before is really cool. The parade is probably my favorite specific thing, just to see a sea of red on Kirkwood last year. It was very, very cool.
What’s your favorite IU memory?
Probably all of my late night trips to Baked! and Jiffytreat. I like to tell people that I’m minoring in Jiffytreat. Because those are the moments I’ve had with my friends, so that kind of binding has been the stuff that I’m going to remember.
What was your most rewarding moment at IU?
The most rewarding moments have been the moments I’ve spent tutoring kids. When they get it, it’s really rewarding, whatever you are teaching to them. Even if you’re not doing something that’s school related, just being a support system for them and when they see you and they’re like, “Maggie’s here!” that’s so rewarding.
Major Cinema and Media Arts
Why did you apply to be on homecoming court?
I had always wanted to be a part of homecoming in some way. As a senior, I thought it was really fitting to want to round out my last full year here as a part of a really big tradition. Knowing that I’m going to be an alumni come May, I already can’t wait to come back for homecoming. So while it’s bittersweet that I will have to leave, I know it will be a really great way to get me amped about the opportunities I’ll have when I’m not a student here to still be involved with my alma mater. I always think it’s really nice when you get to meet other student leaders that have a really big affect on their community that you otherwise wouldn’t have had the chance to meet. So even though it’s a small selection of us, it’s still a lot of people that I haven’t met before.
What’s your favorite homecoming activity?
My favorite homecoming activity is the game. I know usually my parents will come down for it and it’s just everyone’s bustling at once. There’s so much going on. I mean, yes, the traffic is pretty terrible, but it just brings everyone together in one place. Children, parents, grandparents, friends, people from everywhere come to experience it with us. It’s hard to describe how exciting it is. I mean, game day it’s just amazing when you are in the stadium with thousands of other Hoosiers just in a sea of red cheering together. You don’t expect something just by standing there rooting for your team to affect you in certain way but it really puts into perspective how much everyone in this community loves their school. When I’m there, I can’t imagine being anywhere else.
What’s your favorite IU memory?
Being a T.A. for Intensive Freshman Seminars. I’ve done it for three years in a row so I wound up being a T.A for the first class I ever took here, which is The Critical Issue, Philosophy, Film and Music. So I was exposed to a lot of academic material that I hadn’t learned about before. It inspired me to start studying film, I ultimately wound up a film student. I met a great deal of my lifelong best friends in that class that we’ve kept up with for the past four or five years. Being a T.A. for it was really rewarding where I got to give, three years in a row, a group of students the same experience that I had where they’ll still ask me questions where they should go eat or do we want to hang out sometime and catch up or they’ll ask me what classes they should take where I didn’t expect just three weeks of being their like program assistant to mean that much, but in such a short amount of time you can foster a really meaningful connection and that long lasting impact has been the most rewarding thing I’ve done here and I value that program so much.
What's your most rewarding moment at IU?
When I was became co-chair of Culture of Care. Where being a part of an organization that really cares about students is I think the most rewarding thing that I’ve experienced where I’ve talked to people that say “this has really helped me. You’ve given me good resources to go off of” where it’s building a community in areas that maybe community has been lost or wavered in slightly. Where getting a leadership position in that and getting to meet the vice provost or talk to administrators about what I think would help the school perform better in some ways. Having that avenue for student feedback is a really unique experience and a lot of people don’t get that opportunity so I’m not only grateful for that but excited about it and that’s what makes it the most rewarding is knowing that when you are gone you will have some impact.
Tashia Roberson
Major Human Development and Family Studies
Why did you apply to be on homecoming court?
I applied for several reasons. One being I remembered Michelle Whitley. She was an African American female and just seeing her apply for the homecoming court, seeing her service around campus really just motivated me, give me drive to really know that the sky is the limit to anything I want to achieve. Also, I have younger siblings that I just always want to remind them that they are a queen. IU has just given me the opportunity to serve and lead in places that I never thought I would. Just knowing competitive the court is and the standard that the court is held to, I really wanted to be a part of that.
What’s your favorite homecoming activity?
It has to be the tailgate. I just love seeing everyone come around, come together and just talk to people I’ve never talked to but we all have the common love of IU.
What’s your favorite IU memory?
My favorite IU memory is being able to work with Pi Lambda Phi with their week of elimination of prejudice. Being able to come together as a historically black sorority and work with someone that is completely opposite of us and bring the community together to eliminate prejudice, to bring awareness to mental illness, that really helped me find my purpose in serving.
What's your most rewarding moment at IU?
Just being eligible for graduation in May, being able to be a part of Homecoming Court, just being able to serve, and just being able to be here. I’m very grateful for the opportunities that I’ve had at IU.
Major Psychology B.A. with business minor
Why did you apply to be on homecoming court?
At first, we got this email that said “This is your year” and I thought yes it is. And then I was filing out the application and I was writing all of my qualifications and thought I could be homecoming queen, and ultimately that’s why I applied.
What’s your favorite homecoming activity?
I love the football game, mainly because I’m in the band. I like being in the band because it’s, I don’t know what it’s like being in the student section, but the band always wins. We’re still always excited even when we’re losing if we score a touchdown we’re still happy, no matter what.
What’s your favorite IU memory?
Probably my freshman year, when our floor was just starting to get to know each other and we decided to go to a fall festival. This hot air balloon made a crash landing in the arboretum and we got to go and look at it They had the fire to blown air into it, and it was just a really cool experience that you never really get to see.
What was your most rewarding moment at IU?
Over the summer I served as vice president of a national organization (National Senior Classical League) and getting through that week was really tough, but the fact that I got through it and I was able to serve on the board as a vice president was so rewarding, that would be my moment.
Major Journalism and Political Science
Why did you apply to be on homecoming court?
I applied because I’ve really taken advantage of all of the things that IU has to offer in terms of getting involved, and there is a very wide array. So I thought that I could take my experiences of being involved and represent IU and try to get other younger students here at IU more involved.
What’s your favorite homecoming activity?
I love football, so definitely the game. I love the sport and I love the fact that during the homecoming game there is such a large amount of alumni that come in and fill the stands.
What’s your favorite IU memory?
I studied abroad in Chile last year, in May so after the school year ended, but throughout the year I was enrolled in a Media in Latin America course in which we had the opportunity to learn about the different media platforms in South America and Chile specifically. So the entire semester just taking a closer look at that and preparing for my time in Chile and then just the fact that IU has those opportunities to dive deeper into another culture and gives you the opportunity to learn about other cultures.
What was your most rewarding moment at IU?
I am a peer mentor for a service on campus and I would say my favorite IU memory is all of last year just seeing the six proteges that I mentored throughout the year really bloom and become more confident in themselves, more involved, and come to really love IU and their time here.
Sara Zaheer
Major Political Science major, also in the Liberal Arts & Management Program
Why did you apply to be on homecoming court?
It is my senior year and I thought that it would be a really cool tradition to get involved with. So this summer I told all of my friends it would be fun if we all applied for it and then I ended up getting on. So a nice turn of events.
What’s your favorite homecoming activity?
I would have to say the football game just because it’s always packed and there’s such a sense of community in Memorial Stadium. It’s really cool to see everybody get rowdy about our team.
What’s your favorite IU memory?
I’m student body president, so getting the phone calls saying that my team got the most votes was kind of amazing. Everyone was screaming so I didn’t hear at the time how many we got, but it turned out.
What was your most rewarding moment at IU?
Just being a leader at any level on campus because there are so many things that you can do with it. I like bringing people together and I like showing them if there’s something that I’ve learned that they can use. I love passing it on.
