As the cool October wind swept the clothes and hair of the ten deserving candidates, members of the crowd stood, awaiting the announcement of this year’s king and queen.

The road to this moment has been paved with hard work and dedication for all of the homecoming candidates and Taylor McGown is no exception.

Although her candidacy was announced at the homecoming ball Monday, Oct. 18, McGown’s journey toward Washburn royalty began long ago, as she no stranger to helping out the Washburn community. A junior biology major, McGown volunteers as a mentor for fellow biology students. She is the current president of Bod Squad and budget director of the Washburn Student Government Association.

“I handed out spirit point tickets to all the students that came to the dance, helped check students in, and danced a little,” said McGown. “The homecoming ball was just the beginning of a week packed with events.”

McGown participated in the WSGA sponsored Ichabod Race on Tuesday, Oct. 19, where she helped the public relations director cut and arrange puzzle pieces for the event.

“I worked at a station to hand out the puzzle pieces to the teams during the race,” she said.

WSGA senate meeting took place the following day where McGown helped finalize details for the Yell like Hell Bod Squad skit. She also helped plan the Friday Night Madness schedule of events including the music and confirming rented items, speakers and performances.

Thursday’s Can Food Drive at the Washburn Soccer Game was next on McGown’s Homecoming agenda. The food drive collected cans for local food banks.

After the food drive McGown, with her fellow Bod Squad members, participated in Yell like Hell. The Bod Squad performed a skit and dance, dressed in blue, full-body spandex “Morphsuits.” The performance earned Bod Squad third place in the event.

“My favorite activity was participating in Yell like Hell with Bod Squad. This was the first year Bod Squad has been involved in the event. It was a lot of fun starting a new tradition for the organization,” said McGown.

After from being involved in Friday’s luncheon for the alumni and all Homecoming candidates and the Alumni After Hours, McGown, along with Bod Squad and WSGA, hosted Friday Night Madness. Besides helping at the event, McGown also was responsible for a lot of the prep work. 

“I sent out emails to all the athletic teams and coaches getting participation in this event, getting stuff set up and music turned in,” said McGown.

The final day of the candidate’s involvement in homecoming week began with the parade where McGown participated as Bod Squad president and as a candidate. Following the parade she set up the Bod Squad tailgate for the homecoming game against Northwest Missouri State University.

McGown recommends all Washburn students get involved in future homecoming week events because it is an important week for the school.

“It shows pride in Washburn and obviously school spirit. The more involved you get, the more fun it is. People always need help putting together this great week. It really is a great time for Washburn, with all the alumni back, being a part of that is rewarding,” she said.

As her name was announced as Homecoming queen during half-time at Saturday’s football game, McGown was thrilled and honored.

“It was surreal. I kept thinking to myself, is this happening? The week went by so fast, it seemed like it was just Monday, being announced at the Homecoming ball,” said McGown. “I feel honored because the students chose me to represent Washburn. It feels amazing, like what I’m doing on campus is making a difference. All of the candidates do great things for Washburn.”

As homecoming queen McGown will continue to enthusiastically support Washburn through Bod Squad, WSGA and in other ways.

“I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing, that’s what got me here. I will stay involved, supporting Washburn in any way that I can,” said McGown.