Walker, Saleeby take second-place prince, princess prizes at Tuesday’s talent competition
The Carolina Coliseum was packed with students, all of whom were buzzing with excitement and cheering with their friends as they waited for a winner to be named.
But they weren’t watching the presidential election. Instead, they were at the Homecoming Showcase, where the homecoming king and queen were named.
Selected by a text message vote, the crowd chose both Chase Mizzell, student body vice president and third-year international business student, as homecoming king and Lauren Nottoli, a fourth-year public relations student, as queen. Fourth-year advertising student Kevin Walker and fourth-year management and marketing student Emily Saleeby took home the titles of homecoming prince and princess, respectively.
The showcase opened with a speech from the reigning homecoming queen Christina Galardi. Each contestant participated in three acts: talent, evening wear and a Q-and-A session.
With talents ranging from competitive jump rope to swing dancing to skits, the talent portion of the showcase was a crowd favorite.
“I really loved the talent section,” said second-year fashion retailing student Racheal Raines. “Everyone had such unique talents, and the jump roping talent was really awesome.”
Third-year media arts student Will Golladay impressed the audience with his songwriting, performing an original tune on the guitar.
“This summer I taught guitar to kids, and it was a very supportive environment,” Golladay said. “It gave me a way to hone my artistic ability. I decided on the guitar and the first song
I’ve ever written because I thought it would be good and heartfelt. It really came from the heart for me.”
For Golladay, the chance to compete for the title of homecoming king was about more than just the recognition the title would bring. Golladay hopes to bring recognition to his fraternity and to Fraternity and Sorority Life in general.
“I wanted to represent my fraternity, Phi Sigma Kappa,” he said. “More than that I wanted to show that we are not the stereotypical frat guys.”
Saleeby said she was nervous — and then excited — about the performances, but that in all, she’d enjoyed the experience.
“I loved getting a chance to meet all the people from different organizations,” Saleeby said. “Sometimes, when you’re involved in your own organization, it’s hard to meet other people, and this was a great way to do so.”