Homecoming week is upon us. In full Homecoming spirit it is time to get to know the candidates on the Homecoming Court. The candidates for king are Dan Litzenberg, Matthew Smith and Seejo Valacheril. The candidates for queen are Katelyn Harman, Erin Hogan and Paige Steffen. Voting ends tonight at 11: 58 p.m. on blueView through the Campus Life tab.
Seejo Valacheril is a marketing and management major from Morton Grove, Ill. He is involved with Student Senate as a senator-at-large. Valacheril is the vice president of recruitment for the American Marketing Association. He is also a member of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, a student ambassador and an orientation leader.
TD: What do you love most about Drake?
SV: The amount of peer-to-peer interaction, and that not only does Drake want your four to six years here to be exceptional, but the rest of our lives (to be exceptional).
TD: Why do you want to be Homecoming King?
SV: I want to be Homecoming King because not only will it be fun, but it would be a great honor to represent the school in a way that very few students had the chance to do.
Dan Litzenberg is in the second year of pharmacy school and is from Hales Corners, Wis. He is the treasurer for the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacists. Litzenberg is the webmaster and running club race coordinator for the Phi Delta Chi pharmacy fraternity (Psi Chapter). In Alpha Phi Omega, he is the fellowship vice president and last semester he organized more than 90 social events. He is a member of the Iowa Pharmacists Association. During his freshman and sophomore years, he was involved in the Drake Ultimate Club.
TD: What do you love most about Drake?
DL: I absolutely love the level of passion people have for their ideas and beliefs. The best example that comes to mind is the ‘abortion chalk wars’ that were all over campus just a few weeks ago.
TD: Why do you want to be Homecoming King?
DL: I already think it’s an honor to have made it onto court. I want to be Homecoming King to give the pharmacy school representation on the social stage at Drake. Besides that, I want to give recognition to the majority of the campus that is not socially Greek, and that there are so many ways to be a prominent member of the Drake community.
Matthew Smith is a magazines and English major from St. Paul, Minn. He is a PMAC and has been the vice president of communication for Sigma Phi Epsilon for the past two years. Smith was the executive editor of Drake Magazine during the 2010-2011 school year. He is also a member of Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society.
TD: What do you love most about Drake?
MS: The thing I love most about Drake is walking to class and being able to say ‘hi’ to so many different people. It’s nice to go to a school where you actually know your classmates.
TD: Why do you want to be Homecoming King?
MS: For me, being Drake’s Homecoming King would be the greatest way to show just how much Drake pride I have. When I came as a first-year, I didn’t know anybody, and being Homecoming King would be the culmination of an amazing college experience where I’ve met so many different people who all mean the world to me.
Katelyn Harman is a pharmacy major from Germantown Hills, Ill. She is the president of Kappa Alpha Theta. Harman is a member of the Iowa Pharmacists Association and the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists.
TD: What do you love most about Drake?
KH: I love the size. The class sizes are small enough that I can get to know my professors. I also think it’s really neat that President Maxwell and his wife take the time to get to know the students. My floor during freshman year went to dinner at their house, and they have been over to Theta several times for dinner.
TD: Why do you want to be Homecoming Queen?
KH: I want to show students that it is possible to work hard towards academics and become a great leader at the same time.
Erin Hogan is a law, politics and society major from Kansas City, Mo. She was a resident assistant for two years and is currently the assistant residence hall coordinator for Herriott Hall, a hall she considers to be the best and most commonly misspelled on campus. Hogan is also the recognition chair for the National Residence Hall Honorary chapter at Drake. She has served as vice president of advocacy for Colleges Against Cancer and was co-president of the organization last year. Hogan is in her fourth semester in Alpha Phi Omega. She has served on committees of Student Senate for the past three years, and this year Hogan is an organizational senator.
TD: What do you love most about Drake?
EH: I love that in my time at Drake, I’ve met such a diversity of people who all have something to contribute to the Drake community, and I feel at home at Drake because you can’t walk to class without seeing someone you know. This university offers so many opportunities to learn, lead and develop interests or skills, and I am so lucky that I’ve been able to use these chances to grow as a person and become a part of the Drake family.
TD: Why do you want to be Homecoming Queen?
EH: It would be an honor to represent this year’s senior class, which has contributed so many great things to Drake over the last three years, and we’re not done yet. But mostly I just really want to get a picture with Porterhouse, true Drake royalty.
Paige Steffen is a law, politics and society and sociology major from Bloomington, Ill. She runs the 400-meter hurdles for Drake’s track and field team. Steffen is the vice president for Kappa Kappa Gamma and for the Delta Theta Phi pre-law Fraternity.
TD: What do you love most about Drake?
PS: I have always felt at home at Drake. I love the small school atmosphere and the strong connection I have forged with my peers, professors and coaches. My college experience at Drake has been very fulfilling, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.
TD: Why do you want to be Homecoming Queen?
PS: I would be very honored to be named Drake University’s Homecoming Queen. Drake means so much to me and I would love to be able to represent it.
