Raquel Vaughn-
Homecoming is the best part of every year. The school spirit shown through campus events, the outfits that people deliberately wear to show off school colors, the royal court, the sporting events—it’s all a perfect recipe for having the time of your life. Last week, the Campus Activities Board did a great job of creating a sense of community and fostering school spirit through their planning of Homecoming 2024! From Window Painting that was held in the Evelyn Young Dining Room on Monday night to the Rave held in the Alumni Tent Saturday night, students could feel what it truly meant to be a Gustie.
My personal favorite event that happened during Homecoming was the Rodeo event, which included a barbeque food truck, a mechanical bull, a local St. Peter salon with permanent jewelry, yard games with prizes, and a live band called Alto Designo. As someone who worked the event, I still had the time of my life. The live band was so much more fun than I could have expected, even though I saw them perform at Latinx Night, and the mechanical bull was a hit. I got to see many of my friends get on the bull and then fly off seconds later. Seeing everyone gather together in solidarity to show that our school is the best, that we’re the best, is one of the most euphoric experiences. One of my favorite things about being the Social Media Executive for the Campus Activities Board is that I get to witness people having a good time and that I get to capture it. I turn those memories into keepsakes for people and being able to do that during Rodeo Night was my favorite part of Homecoming.
Line dancing was arguably the best part of the event. This is not a subtle shout-out to the Swing Dance Club (because I’m not trying to be subtle). Swing Dance Club did an amazing job at getting students engaged in a rodeo-style dance party. Getting to stand on the stage and watch what looked to be about a hundred Gusties dancing and truly enjoying their time was a euphoric experience. Being together as a student body, and celebrating our personal and shared experiences on campus, is what Homecoming is all about – and the line dancing showed that.
Homecoming has an everlasting impression on students. Every year, I think back to my previous experiences—more specifically from high school. We would have dress-up days, one of them being a group dress-up. We could coordinate with our friends to dress up in any way we wanted. My friends and I went as M&M’s one year. A couple of my favorites from others were a group of guys dressed as the Secret Service, another group dressed as Grey’s Anatomy characters, and yet another as a rock band. The essence of Homecoming created a desire to go to school because the excitement of seeing everyone’s outfits trumped the exhaustion of homework.
Just like our annual dodgeball tournament, my school held an Iron Man match and Powderpuff game. Iron Man is a series of volleyball matches between the Junior boys and Senior boys. The Powderpuff game is a flag football game between Junior girls and Senior girls. It’s a fun competition between classes and a great opportunity to celebrate solidarity. Looking back, I didn’t realize how quickly it would all go by.
Considering that this is probably the last one I’ll ever have in my whole life as a student, it was bittersweet to participate in this year’s Homecoming. I’m so thankful I got to take full advantage of my Senior Homecoming. From working the events to working the football game to standing on the field while a friend of mine crowned me royalty were all highlights. Don’t get me wrong, standing on that field in front of all of you was terrifying (I definitely peed myself a little), but knowing that I could write my name in the history books of Gustavus was a cool opportunity. Again, it’s exactly what Homecoming is all about. Every single one of us has that opportunity to not only create highlights that will stick with us even after we have grandkids but to also include ourselves in that history. Homecoming is just a good time made into history.
Homecoming is also about the little things. Winning royalty was definitely fun and I’m so honored to have been one of the two that were chosen by the student body. But the little things will also stick with me. For instance, my royal court sister and good friend, Cristina Sirbu, pulling me into the mosh pit at the Homecoming Rave will be one of them. Even though I don’t know how to dance and there were big, tall guys jumping all around me, it was so fun to be able to be there with one of my girls. From the inside jokes, the pictures taken, to every hug I’ve given and received, Homecoming is about making memories. Which is why towards the end of the Rave, I stood in the back for a moment to enjoy the atmosphere. It was like a movie, the way it seemed everybody danced and jumped in slow motion. Everyone’s the main character during Homecoming week, which is what makes it the best week.