Homecoming week came to an emotional head for seniors Ciara Reed and Jeremy Lloyd, who were crowned the 2013 Homecoming Queen and King.
During halftime against Lamar on Saturday, Lloyd, a vocal performance major, leaped with excitement at the call of his name. Reed, a communication major, nearly fainted where she stood on the 50-yard line of Strawberry Stadium.
“It’s a very emotional night,” said Reed. “It’s amazing, because I’m so humble and I didn’t expect it to be me because I’m not Greek. I’m not an orientation leader or a big part of an organization. I’m just an average person on this campus that really wanted to make a difference and do something great. Who would have thought it would have been me?”
Lloyd, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha and the 2013 Southeastern Star, called his crowning another dream come true.
“I never imagined this would happen to me,” he said. “Much less that I would be named with my best friend.”
Being chosen as the Homecoming King and Queen fulfills a promise that Lloyd and Reed made to each other during their sophomore year.
“We promised each other in our sophomore years that we would run together and win Homecoming King and Queen,” said Reed. “But who would have guessed we would be standing here? All I can say is that we’re really grateful to God, family and all of our friends who helped us be here.”
“We planned this out,” said Lloyd. “It’s so amazing that we said we were going to do this thing, and it actually happened.”
Homecoming Court candidates are restricted to verbal and social media campaigning. Reed said she took full advantage of face-to-face campaigning by getting to know her voters and immersing herself into the goings-on of campus.
“I think I’m the people’s choice,” said Reed. “A person that will talk to you before and after Homecoming. A person that would give my last if I had it. I truly appreciate everyone that took the time to vote. We broke records this year, and I was just amazed how much we moved campus.”
Lloyd used his major to help campaign for the crown, but also jumped outside of his comfort zone to meet new people.
“When I was singing on stage, on Twitter, Instagram, lunch in the Café, walking to class, going to organizations and meeting them,” said Lloyd. “It was all about fellowship, and I loved getting to know new people and showing how I can be a great person.”
With their sophomore promise fulfilled, Reed and Lloyd now look to finish their time at Southeastern while repaying what it has given them every step of the way.
“I know we’re going to promote Southeastern in the best way possible,” said Lloyd. “I’m going to show everyone that I am ‘Go Green! Go Gold! Go Lions!’ for life.”