Triangle Talks with 2014 Homecoming king and queen | The Triangle

Triangle Talks with 2014 Homecoming king and queen

Rohil Shah, Drexel’s 2014 Homecoming king, is a pre-junior biomedical engineering major with a minor in entrepreneurship.

Christe Thompson, Drexel’s 2014 Homecoming queen, is a senior communications major.

Photo credit: Drexel Homecoming
Photo credit: Drexel Homecoming

The Triangle: What made you want to run for Drexel’s 2014 Homecoming Court?

Rohil Shah: First, last year’s homecoming king was Lawrence [Jones] and he was my [resident assistant] for freshman year. So knowing him made me think I should give this a shot. So I asked him and found out all I had to do was fill out an application. I thought “Why not? Give it a try. You never know if you could win and make the homecoming court.” It turns out that it worked out in my favor.

Christe Thompson: I chose to run for homecoming queen because I believe that the homecoming king and queen should be the students that best represent the Drexel education. Ever since I arrived on Drexel’s campus, I have thrown myself into the Drexel experience and [been] [CE1] involved on campus, so being crowned homecoming queen, to me, was the ultimate opportunity to represent our school and have a greater platform to keep creating change on campus.

TT: How did you campaign?

RS: There were three ways I went about campaigning. The first way was through social media, just letting people know and getting my name out there so that I was the prominent candidate. If anyone had to pick one person, they would pick me just because they knew my name. Second was just going to my friends and [having] them promote for me. I have a few friends that are RAs who would promote to their floor. Some of my friends that are on my dance team also got their close friends to vote. I know some people in my frat also promoted to their friends. Third, during the snow days when everyone was locked in, my friends and I went from door to door in some of the [residence halls] and just got easy votes by giving a Jolly Rancher.

CT: For my campaign I stuck with a pretty traditional plan. I had a lot of red, white and blue stickers, buttons and flyers around campus but I really relied mostly on my reputation on campus for being involved and active in the community to speak for itself.

TT: Were you surprised when your name was called? What thoughts went through your mind?

RS: It was really nerve-racking and it all just happened so quick[ly]. They just say who the homecoming court is and they just announce who the king is. I wasn’t ready for that to happen at all. In fact, they called my name and I just stood there. Then they called Christe’s name and she actually walked out. I was like “What am I doing right now?”

CT: I was so shocked when I won. I absolutely couldn’t believe it! I was just so happy to be nominated to be on the court that I couldn’t believe I had actually won homecoming queen. It didn’t fully hit me until I saw my boyfriend running toward me across the basketball court. He goes to Drexel Medical School, but he is also cheering on the Drexel cheer team. When he ran across the court to meet me with flowers, it really hit me that I had won. I was so proud and couldn’t wait to call my parents.

TT: What are you responsibilities as the king and queen or what do you hope to do with your title?

RS: First is to represent the school at a couple of events. Second is to be a good role model to students and give advice to kids to be able to do the same thing.

CT: Well I get to crown the next queen, which is pretty exciting! I also plan on being really involved with alumni events, as well as recruitment events because I am passionate about education so I want everyone to have the same amazing experience that I’ve had.

TT: When you first came to Drexel, did you ever think you would end up on Drexel’s Homecoming Court?

RS: Not a chance. I didn’t think a lot of the things that [have] happened to me would have happened when I first came to Drexel — like joining a fraternity, doing the dance team and becoming homecoming king. Those are three things I would have never predicted me doing.

CT: I never in a million years thought I would be homecoming queen. I believe that it’s important to take chances and put yourself out there and challenge yourself. I’ve never been a prom queen or homecoming queen or even a class president, so this is definitely new to me. It really is an honor to be selected by my peers as the homecoming queen. It makes me feel like everything I’ve done on campus has been helpful to others.

TT: How did you end up at Drexel?

RS: The five-year B.S.-M.S. program with three co-ops initially interested me in Drexel but now it has kind of changed because my options have opened up. Drexel has helped me to grow as a person and do so much more than I was ever able to do.

CT: I wanted to come to Drexel to be in the city amidst working professionals. I didn’t want to be tucked away on a secluded campus that felt like a continuation of high school. I also loved the idea of the co-op program. I am a really hard-working and motivated student, so I was excited by the opportunity to finally put my skills to [the] test in a real job setting. Plus, I grew up in a neighborhood without sidewalks so the opportunity to be able to walk to restaurants, historical sites and shops was really exciting to me.

TT: What’s your favorite thing to do at Drexel or in Philly?

RS: My favorite thing being in Philly is going to all the sports events. I think that’s something not a lot of colleges get to experience is having all these professional sports just right around the corner. It’s a lot of fun being able to [see] the Eagles, Flyers and Sixers, especially when Drexel gives out free or group discounted tickets.

CT: My favorite thing to do at Drexel is to sit outside of [Pearlstein Business Learning Center] and eat Halal from the food truck in between classes. I absolutely love Halal and when the weather is nice there is nothing better than grabbing an outdoor table and doing my reading for business law outside. My favorite thing to do in Philly is exploring Reading Terminal Market with my boyfriend, Andrew. If you haven’t eaten a pound of ribs there, you need to!

Triangle Talks is a weekly column that highlights members of the Drexel community.