By Drew Bonifant
Homecoming King: Jason Horton After weeks of getting his name out around campus, Jason Horton was rewarded this weekend when the student body voted him Homecoming King.
Horton came out on top in a field that included senior Tom Kelly (sponsored by the Kappa Sigma fraternity), senior Vinny Tejada (sponsored by the Latin American Student Organization), senior Ari Seitelman (sponsored by the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity) and junior Chris Bourne (sponsored by the College Republicans).
“It was pretty exciting,” Horton said. “We campaigned hard, knocked on doors, spoke to freshmen. [Homecoming Queen] Kristina Cecil and I were involved in orientation for freshmen. We did skits on how to act in residence halls in front of all the freshmen. I guess that’s why we got voted in.”
Horton is no stranger to leadership positions. A junior business major with a concentration in accounting, he has served as the vice president of finance for the Resident Student Association (RSA). He was also a mentor to freshman business majors and a tour guide. He was elected as a National Residence Hall Honorary, a position that includes the top one percent of leaders on campus.
“I’m a student leader on campus,” he said. “I love Husky pride, I love school spirit. I feel [becoming the Homecoming King] represents school spirit.”
Horton is also deciding what his future will look like after graduation.
“I’ve co-oped for Deloitte and Touche, one of the big four accounting firms,” he said. “I’ve co-oped there twice. I am going back for a third time in January and am going back there after graduation.”
While Horton put plenty of effort into his campaigns, he was quick to recognize the help he received from his supporting organization.
“I definitely think it was the backing I had from the student organization, and the passion we had from the organization,” he said. “I’d like to thank the RSA and members of RSA for backing me throughout the campaign. It was a long week of activities and campaigning, but it definitely paid off.”
Mayor Of Huntington avenue: Jordon Clark As a candidate for Mayor of Huntington Avenue, Jordan Clark’s major obstacle might have been his lack of seniority. As a sophomore, he lacks the campus exposure of some of his middler, junior and senior competitors, the sophomore African-American studies and political science major said.
Turns out, it didn’t matter too much, as Clark was elected to the position formerly held by Chris Marshall, a senior athletic training major.
“I’m really excited,” he said. “It’s awesome, I’m so happy. I’m stoked.”
Clark said he believed he had a good chance at the position while he was campaigning and building popularity and publicity.
“You always want to go into something thinking you’re going to win,” he said. “People on the street were saying ‘Hey, Jordan! I voted for you!’ It made me feel like a celebrity on campus. I’m glad people were getting excited, getting into this.”
Clark also gave credit to the rest of the nominees in his group.
“They’re really good guys,” he said. “It could have been any one of us. It’s a nice feeling that people on campus support you. I worked really hard, and it worked out.”
A native of Spokane, Wash., his extracurricular experience includes time as a Resident Assistant in Stetson West and positions as the Student Government Association representative for the Northeastern Black Student Association and treasurer for Brothers About Change.
“I was always involved in high school, and I like being in leadership roles,” he said. “Boston is my home now, so I’m going to be doing what I did when I was in high school.”
In addition to being an honorary title, the Mayor of Huntington position also has several tasks attached to it, like handling alumni events and connections and promoting the school’s sports events to build more school spirit.
“I want to get it back to the way it was,” Clark said. “I want to get the spirit back. I want people to be excited about the NU sports again. I want to get people excited about the games. I’m excited to work with alumni too. It’s an honor to be the student representative to work with them.”
Clark, who plans to attend law school after his time at Northeastern, is thrilled with his victory, he said.
“I don’t want to sound cocky, but it’s a big ego booster,” he said. “It just makes me want to get involved, to be more of a leader. They’re excited, and it gets me excited.”
Homecoming Queen: Kristina Cecil After a childhood spent on the other side of the country, Kristina Cecil has been making a name for herself during her four years at Northeastern.
Born in San Diego, Cecil, who moved to Massachusetts at age 10, was named the Homecoming Queen during the weekend. She was one of two candidates from the Resident Student Association (RSA) to earn a victory. Horton, her running mate, was named Homecoming King.
“It’s such an honor. I was so excited when they called my name,” Cecil said. “It’s a wonderful way to represent Northeastern and the community. I put a lot of time into my student group and the university, and that’s why it has a lot of importance to me.”
The work Cecil said she does is extensive: in addition to being the vice president of administration for RSA, the junior marketing and accounting major has also spent four years planning RSA activities, including whitewater rafting and skydiving, and was recently named an Ell Scholar. Now she’s Homecoming Queen.
“It makes me feel like students care about what’s being done on campus, and it’s great to be recognized on campus for all I’ve done, and as a leader,” Cecil said. “I was amazed at how many people voted. I wish I could meet every one of them.”
Cecil beat out a field that included senior Krystal Beaulieu (sponsored by the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority), senior Alyssa Gugliotti (sponsored by the Delta Zeta sorority), senior Kim Fitzgibbons (sponsored by the Sigma Delta Tau sorority), senior Stephanie Officer (sponsored by the Northeastern Black Student Organization), senior Juel Swanston (sponsored by the Caribbean Student Organization) and junior Linda Sun (sponsored by the Student Government Association(SGA)).
“It was pretty stiff competition,” Cecil said. “There were people from sororities and SGA, and it’s a big honor to be named Homecoming Queen as a junior. It’ll be great next year to stay around for the next Homecoming Queen’s reign. Regardless of what age you are, it’s a great honor.” Cecil said her interest in running for the position derived mostly from the joy she felt it would offer.
“I really thought it’d be a lot of fun. I did it for the experience,” she said. “I really did it to have a good time and to meet new people. The Homecoming Court was a great way to get in touch with people you don’t normally spend time with.”
