Student voters elected Delta Theta president Jessica Ellison, senior accounting major from Van, the 2010 Homecoming Queen out of ten nominees.
Ellison was crowned at halftime during Saturday’s Homecoming football game after the introduction of both the coming-home court from 2000 and this year’s Homecoming court.
“I’m kind of still in shock,” said Jessica Ellison. “It’s exciting, and it’s an honor. I’m just glad the student body voted for me.”
Ellison was the only member of Delta Theta on this year’s Homecoming court. The other nine nominees were either members of Sigma Theta Chi or Ko Jo Kai.
“It’s just exciting for the smaller guy,” Jessica Ellison said. “Just being nominated was an honor, let alone winning.”
Samantha Adkins, senior alumni relations officer, said it is not uncommon for someone from a less-represented club to win queen when competing against numerous women from larger clubs. The larger clubs usually end up splitting their votes between more than one nominee.
“I’m not really shocked that she would win,” Adkins said. “It’s not unusual for someone who is an outlier to get the rest of the votes.”
Ellison’s father and escort, Charles Ellison, also said the award was a testament to his daughter’s involvement at ACU.
“We’re very proud of her. She’s already excelled in everything,” Charles Ellison said. “She started out in a small town and wound up here.”
Although 1,369 votes were placed during the past week, about half of those votes were ultimately deemed void. Adkins said many students attempt to vote more than once, and many alumni also try to participate although voting is closed to them.
Out of the 10 women on court this year, Adkins said there was a race between first, second and third place.
“Second and third were close, but the winner was easily seen,” Adkins said. “Jessica is a sweetie and she deserves it. She will represent the student body well with that.”
Jessica Ellison and the rest of the 2010 Homecoming court will be invited back to participate in the Homecoming festivities for 2021.
