King and queen crowned at halftime

By Jess Camp

Published Oct. 24, 2006

Missouri Students Association President John Andersen and president of Sigma Rho Sigma honorary fraternity Courtney Green were named the 2006 Homecoming king and queen at halftime as a steady downpour soaked Faurot Field on Saturday.

"It was a really huge surprise," Green said. "The first thing I did was ask my escort if they said my name."

She said she did not expect to win because though she does a lot of volunteering, her work does not always involve MU students.

When Green's name was announced, she said she was looking at the girl that she thought would win the crown. She soon realized that everyone was staring back at her ­— that is when it sunk in she had won.

Andersen said it caught him off guard, also.

"Winning was a big blur," he said. "I was in shock and didn't know what to do. It was amazing. It's indescribable. I saw my fraternity section going nuts, and my family way up in the stands."

Andersen is also a founding member of MU's chapter of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. He is pursuing a master's degree in international affairs.

Green is also a member of Chi Omega sorority and volunteers at University Hospital and a local food pantry. She is also a biology major and a third-generation MU student.

Homecoming Royalty nomination is a long process. First, the candidates are nominated by student organizations. Then, roughly 100 applicants are interviewed, and must complete a service project.

Those applicants are then cut down to 30 people and interviewed again. Finally, the list is cut to the final top 10.

Megan Henderson, one of the five candidates for Homecoming queen, said everyone was pulling for each other.

"I wasn't sad that I didn't win," Henderson said. "I didn't really care about winning. All of the top 10 hoped that each other would win."

Candidate Bryan Quick said being nominated was an honor.

"It is something that I'll always remember," Quick said. "It was a lot of fun looking into the crowd and seeing people cheering for me and yelling my name."

The nominees participated in the Homecoming Parade by riding as escorts in cars and then went to a halftime ceremony during Saturday's game.

"The parade was incredible," Henderson said. "I thought we were just going to sit and wave, but we threw candy to the kids. I threw too big of handfuls in the beginning and thought that I was going to run out, but I didn't. It was an amazing experience because the community was out there watching."

Green said she enjoyed the parade as well. She said she thought that it was fun and enjoyed that the little kids watching thought that she was special.

When the floats were backed up, Green said she ran around with the audience.

"It was a lot of fun. I was surprised at how ruthless kids were for candy," Andersen said.

The candidates participated in community service activities in the weeks leading up to Homecoming, including the Tigers Taming Hunger food drive and helping build a house for Habiitat for Humanity.