{"id":5704,"date":"2016-10-07T13:06:32","date_gmt":"2016-10-07T18:06:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/?p=5704"},"modified":"2016-10-12T11:12:37","modified_gmt":"2016-10-12T16:12:37","slug":"babajide-aina-gabrielle-davis-win-sau-homecoming-king-queen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/2016\/babajide-aina-gabrielle-davis-win-sau-homecoming-king-queen\/","title":{"rendered":"Babajide Aina and Gabrielle Davis win SAU Homecoming King and Queen"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"homecoming-king-aina-and-queen-davis\"<\/a>Hearing their names announced as Southern Arkansas University\u2019s Homecoming King and Queen 2016 might have been surreal for Babajide Aina and Gabrielle Davis, but it was a moment neither is likely to forget.<\/p>\n

Aina, a senior biology pre-health major from Garland, Texas, said that although many of his fellow students have jokingly taken to calling him \u201cYour Majesty\u201d following his selection as Homecoming King on Oct. 1, \u201cI don\u2019t feel any different. I just feel like I\u2019m the same old person.\u201d<\/p>\n

He not only found himself on the Homecoming Court but escorting the winning candidate for Queen, Davis, a senior political science major from Magnolia, Ark. Both said their hard work asking for votes paid off and now look forward to serving SAU in their newly-elected capacities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel very blessed and thankful,\u201d Davis said of her selection. \u201cIt is definitely going to be a journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Aina, the journey to SAU Homecoming King took him through three other universities before an offer to play Mulerider basketball brought him to Magnolia. He attended Prairie View A&M University in Houston, Texas A&M University at Commerce and Kansas City Community College before deciding to continue his collegiate basketball career at SAU. He plays guard for the Muleriders and is passionate about not only the game but the University.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came to visit the campus, classes were out, but I could visualize what kind of school it is,\u201d Aina said. \u201cIt felt like home. For me, being a Mulerider means being an ambitious individual, helpful to others, and appreciative of all the memories and experiences gained at the University.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last summer he asked a co-worker at the Reynolds Center Information Desk about activities in which he could participate during his senior year. \u201cI wanted to go out with a bang. I just said, \u2018Hey, what about Homecoming King?\u2019 She said, \u2018I think you can do it.\u2019 I talked to my boss, Victor Duke, who said I had the personality for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen school started, I started with the SGA elections, got my feet wet asking for votes and it just carried on into Homecoming,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve never done anything like this in my life. It was a great experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis said she has been prepared to campaign for Homecoming Queen since before arriving at SAU. \u201cLast year, I told myself that would be me,\u201d she said. \u201cI had my mind set on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I was nominated to the Homecoming Court, I knew how to prepare,\u201d Davis said. \u201cAs a political science major, I knew what it would take to campaign. I made up fliers and candy bags. I made buttons to give people at all the popular places on campus, and social media was huge \u2013 it really moved my (campaign) out into the community. Babajide also helped promote me whenever he talked to people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI started campaigning as soon as I found out I was on the Court,\u201d Aina said. \u201cWhen I asked for votes, I would always say, \u2018Hello, how you doing,\u2019 and \u2018Have a good day,\u2019 because you never know what somebody is going through or who\u2019s going to vote for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI met a ton of people,\u201d Davis said. \u201cI think there were some misperceptions about what it means to be on the Homecoming Court \u2013 people would say, \u2018I\u2019m not into sports!\u2019 So I had the chance to explain what it is that the King and Queen do. It\u2019s about being a good representative of the school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aina and Davis agreed that Homecoming Week was a time of hard work and campaigning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually missed an assignment,\u201d Davis said. \u201cI never miss an assignment! It was stressful, I won\u2019t sugarcoat that, but God worked it all out for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe held each other up at the end,\u201d Aina said. \u201cWe worked really hard. When they called my name (as King), I felt like, \u2018Did that happen?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to cry, but I didn\u2019t,\u201d Davis recalled of hearing her name announced as Homecoming Queen. \u201cI was just so happy. You don\u2019t know who\u2019s going to win until they call your name, and I felt it was well-deserved \u2026 we worked so hard. I felt like I built a foundation instead of resting on one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Aina, she said her fellow classmates now treat her like royalty. \u201cI reciprocate the respect that\u2019s shown,\u201d Davis said. \u201cIt is a blessing to hold this position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each expects the other to do a great job in their respective roles. \u201cHe\u2019s going to be a great King,\u201d Davis said of Aina. \u201cHe\u2019s very involved, a lot of people know him; he\u2019s very personable. It\u2019s about that personal experience. People remember that better than a flier.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the first impression that sticks,\u201d Aina said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to give people a reason to vote. We prayed about it and put the work in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aina, a Bronx, N.Y. native, said he plans to use his biology degree to apply to dental school. Davis said she plans to law school after she receives her undergraduate degree.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hearing their names announced as Southern Arkansas University\u2019s Homecoming King and Queen 2016 might have been surreal for Babajide Aina and Gabrielle Davis, but it was a moment neither is likely to forget. Aina, a senior biology pre-health major from Garland, Texas, said that although many of his fellow students have jokingly taken to calling… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":564,"featured_media":5705,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[265,143],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5704","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-events","8":"category-student-life","9":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/564"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}