With Kent State’s homecoming just around the corner, many may wonder how homecoming court was chosen.

Nancy Schiappa, associate director of alumni relations, explained the process.

First, those who wish to be on homecoming court must be nominated by a campus department, student organization, residence hall or athletic team.

Those students must fill out an application, turn in a resume and write an essay on “what it means to be on homecoming court.”

Each candidate will then be interviewed and given a point score based on their interview and GPA combined. The six males and females who score the highest make up the homecoming court.

To vote for your homecoming king and queen, you can log on to FlashLine from 8 a.m. Wednesday until noon Friday.

Schiappa also provided the following information.

Name: Emily Carle

Sponsoring Organization: Student Success Program

Major: Applied communication studies

Hometown: Bowling Green, Ohio

Kent State Involvement: Student Success leader & intern, participation chair for Kent Student Ambassadors, president of Lambda Pi Eta, secretary for Mortar Board, vice president for Kent Communication Society, USG Street Team, Golden Key, campus tour guide, assistant in the College of Communication and Information dean’s office.

Career Goal: My goal after graduation is to attend graduate school and earn my master’s degree in higher education and student affairs and eventually work for a college or university focusing on programming and first-year initiatives for the student population.

Fondest Kent State Memory: My fondest memories revolve around my work with the Student Success Programs and Destination Kent State, specifically with Welcome Weekend. I have worked the past three Welcome Weekends, and every year I’ve been more and more proud of the outcome. My work with Welcome Weekend not only put me into contact with some of my closest friends, but it helped me understand what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I know that when I look back at my years at Kent State, Welcome Weekend will stand out.

Name: Carrie Drummond

?Sponsoring Organization: Kent Student Ambassadors

?Major: Public relations

?Hometown: Boardman, Ohio

?Kent State Involvement: Kent Student Ambassadors, vice president of Membership for Public Relations Student Society of America, Flash Communications, member of the Honors College, Kappa Tau Alpha, public relations coordinator for Kent State Hockey, Relay for Life, Safety Week planning committee, Founders Scholar.

?Career Goal: To work in community relations for a university or health care network.

Fondest Kent State Memory: Besides being selected for Homecoming Court, my fondest memory is being a Kent Student Ambassador. I’ve had so much fun working on ambassador assignments. I even met Lou Holtz through being an ambassador for the reception prior to his speech last year.

Name: Arianne Gasser

Sponsoring Organization: Kent Communication Society

Major: Organizational communication studies

Hometown: Canton, Ohio

Kent State Involvement: President of Kent Communication Society, vice president for Lambda Pi Eta, senior resident assistant for Fletcher and Manchester Halls, Destination Kent State Residence Services check-in, summer resident assistant for Leebrick Hall, resident assistant for Dunbar Hall, Communication Studies Personalized System of Instruction intern, National Residence Hall honorary, Kent State University Chorale, Ars Nova Chamber Ensemble.

Career Goal: I hope to spend the next few years earning my master’s degree in organizational communication studies. I then hope to begin a career in communication skills training or consultation. I also hope to one day teach communication studies at the college level.

Fondest Kent State Memory: I will never forget the two years I participated in Relay for Life at Kent State. Kent Communication Society had a booth last year and raised over $2,500 toward the fight against cancer. We had an amazing time and were thrilled to be able to contribute to such an important cause. Relay for Life has become something I look forward to every year at Kent.

Name: Jessica Hubbard

Sponsoring Organization: Kent State Marching Golden Flashes

Major: Early childhood education

Hometown: Massillon, OH

Kent State Involvement: Touch of Gold twirler, Students of Scholarship, Kent Student Education Association, intramural volleyball, Golden Key International Honor Society.

Career Goal: Public preschool/K-3 educator

Fondest Kent State Memory: In February of my freshman year, we had a day off from school because of knee-deep snow. The twirlers and I walked all the way from the Small Group freshmen dorms to paint the rock. It stayed up for a couple of days because no one else would venture out to it.

Name: Jennifer Kernohan

Sponsoring Organization: Alpha Phi Omega

Major: Middle childhood education

Hometown: Amherst, Ohio

Kent State Involvement: President of Alpha Phi Omega, senior student desk receptionist at the New Front-Centennial Area Desk, Education Learning Community, Habitat for Humanity.

Career Goal: I hope to pursue a career teaching mathematics and science to middle-grade students in the local area within the next year. After obtaining my job, I would like to return to get my master’s in counseling to further myself in my career.

Fondest Kent State Memory: My fondest Kent State memory was being elected as the president of Alpha Phi Omega. This organization has changed my life by bringing together such a compassionate group of students devoted to doing service to our campus, community and nation. I will never forget this day knowing that I was chosen to be part of something more to my campus and fraternity and that I am a role model that people respect and look up to.

Name: Koreen Ward

?Sponsoring Organization: Alumni Association

?Major: Speech pathology and audiology

?Hometown: Rootstown, Ohio

?Kent State Involvement: Kent Student Ambassadors, Operation Smile, National Student Speech Language Hearing Association, research assistant in the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Child Development Center student employee and Relay for Life participant.

?Career Goal: I plan to become a speech pathologist who is able to work in a variety of settings.

?Fondest Kent State Memory: Being around my family and friends throughout the luminary lighting ceremony during Relay for Life. It is a wonderful feeling to know how much strength and support our community and campus has on fighting cancer.

Name: Rudolph Armocida

Sponsoring Organization: Kent State Kayak Club and Student Recreation and Wellness Center

Major: Health education and physical education

Hometown: Brimfield, Ohio

Kent State Involvement: Rec center employee, Kent State Kayak Club, Newman Center, former chairperson of Catholic Student Association, rec center intramurals.

Career Goal: To teach and coach at the high school level, then either start my own business or earn my master’s and doctorate, then return to Kent State to teach at the university level.

Fondest Kent State Memory: My fondest memories of Kent State University are the people — both students and faculty — that I have met and befriended in my major courses.

Name: Carl Belfiore

Sponsoring Organization: Alpha Tau Omega

Major: Fashion merchandising

Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio

Kent State Involvement: Alpha Tau Omega, Interfraternity Council, Order of Omega, Textile Club, Alpha Xi Delta chapter sweetheart, Alpha Xi Delta houseboy

Career Goal: Move to a suburb near a big city and work in a fast-paced, creative, hands-on environment.

Fondest Kent State Memory: Every Cornhole for a Cure, Xi Man, LipSync, Anchorman, Songfest, and Greek philanthropic events in general.

Name: David Chupak

Sponsoring Organization: National Residence Hall Honorary

Major: Integrated language arts

Hometown: West Middlesex, Pa.

Kent State Involvement: Resident assistant at Centennial Court B, resident assistant at Leebrick Hall, senior resident assistant Koonce Hall, summer conference assistant, senior summer conference assistant, secretary Kent State University Men’s Chorus, Koonce international mentorship liaison, treasurer United Way Kent State Chapter, president and secretary of National Residence Hall Honorary Black Squirrel Chapter, Students for Students program tutor at Firestone High School, undergraduate advisory council representative for the dean of the College of Education, Health and Human Services, Kent State Student Ambassadors nominee.

Career Goal: I plan to earn a master’s in higher education administration and ultimately work as the president of a university.

Fondest Kent State Memory: Although there are so many fond memories I have from my time at Kent State, one that I will never forget is from my freshman year. Two of my friends and I painted ourselves completely blue with “KSU” on our chests and dressed up in hula skirts and blue and gold wigs for a men’s basketball game against George Mason. The game was televised on ESPN, and my friends and family at home saw me in the crowd. It was an awesome experience to show my school pride in a unique and entertaining way.

Name: Brendan Desetti

Sponsoring Organization: Kent Interhall Council

Major: Hospitality management

Hometown: Lawrence, Kan.

Kent State Involvement: Kent Interhall Council, Engleman Hall Council, Black Squirrel Radio, Relay for Life, Students of Scholarship, Golden Key Honor Society

Career Goal: To work for a major hospitality organization.

Fondest Kent State Memory: When I did belly-dancing lessons at KIC’s Festival of Nations in the Eastway dining room

Name: Rahim Z. Mangalji

Sponsoring Organization: Alpha Epsilon Pi

Major: Integrated life sciences

Hometown: Warren, Ohio

Kent State Involvement: Kent Interhall Council, Order of Omega Greek Leadership Honor Society, Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity, Relay For Life

Career Goal: After graduating Kent State this year, I hope to go pursue my master’s in public health and then go to medical school. My ultimate career aspiration is to become a pediatrician with the side goal of applying my master’s to help out my future community.

Fondest Kent State Memory: Although I’ve been blessed with a myriad of wonderful Kent State memories, my most cherished memory was at last year’s Alpha Epsilon Pi philanthropic LatkeFest event. Never having cooked a latke before (a potato pancake) and also having a pretty terrible track record with cooking-related accidents, my Alpha Epsilon Pi brothers came together to show me the art of creating a latke. Eventually, what was supposed to be a simple art of producing latkes in mass quantities, turned into a pretty eclectic dance party. Whilst wielding a spatula and sporting a pretty suave hairnet, my brothers and I jammed in the kitchen to the tune of the BeeGees, the Beatles, the Backstreet Boys, the Macarena, etc. Finally, at the end of the day came the most wonderful feeling, as we raised a huge sum of money for the Sha’are Zedek Pediatric Hospital wing in Israel.

Name: Christopher Meluch

Sponsoring Organization: Phi Sigma Pi

Major: Political science and international relations

Hometown: Newton Falls, Ohio

Kent State Involvement: Phi Sigma Pi, Pi Sigma Alpha

Career Goal: Graduate, take a year off and travel, start grad school for international relations

Fondest Kent State Memory: Traveling to Egypt via my Field Experience geography class sophomore year.

Contact Kristen O’Brien at [email protected].