Photo contributed from The Winonan Student Newspaper (taken by photo editor Taylor Nyman).

Photo contributed by The Winonan Student Newspaper (Taylor Nyman, photo editor).

Homecoming week has come and gone this year, leaving the WSU community with amazing memories from fun events such as the Pep Fest, Chalk the Walk, Community Tailgate Party and more.

 

To celebrate Warrior pride and the many heroes who are important to us, the #WSUHoCo16 theme was A Hero’s Homecoming. To honor everyday heroes, thank you cards to friends, roommates, faculty and staff were written by students and delivered during Homecoming week and a Nominate Your Hero social media contest was also held.

Countless hours of planning, organizing and volunteering took place to make Homecoming 2016 happen, and the individuals who were part of this deserve to be recognized and thanked! Here are your Homecoming committee heroes:

bieberBrittany Bieber

Major, minor: Elementary Education and Early Childhood, Middle Level Mathematics and Child Advocacy Studies (CAST)

Committee role: WSU Community Tailgate Party Chair

“My favorite part about planning the homecoming events is getting the students excited about their campus and athletes. It was so much fun working with students on campus that had the same motivation by just giving the students a great and safe Homecoming! Seeing the success of the events makes the time planning worth it in the long run.”

 

bortnerMollie Bortner

Major, minor: Business Administration and Human Resources

Committee role: Spirit Co-Chair

“My favorite part of planning Homecoming events was seeing all of the planning falling into place, and seeing the campus come together! That really is what Homecoming is all about.”

 

 

brothertonAshley Brotherton

Major, minor: Mathematics Secondary Education

Committee role: Pep Fest Chair

“My favorite part about planning the homecoming events was getting involved in the behind-the-scenes of what happens. It was fun to see how we went from meeting in April with a beginning plan, and then the final product of Homecoming week. It was fun to see all of our hard work come alive, and how people really enjoyed the week because of our events.

 

fernholzJacob Fernholz

Major, minor: Graphic Design

Committee role: Graphic / PR Chairperson

“My favorite part about the planning process was hearing all of the ideas that the other members of the group had, especially the veterans. I learned that a tremendous amount of creative thinking, planning and hard work goes on in the background to make these events as successful as they can possibly be.”

 

halberslabenMaggie Halberslaben

Major, minor: Social Work, Child Advocacy Studies (CAST)

Committee role: Spirit Co-Chair

“My favorite part of planning Homecoming events is using the experiences we have had in the past on campus to figure out what the student population would like the best. I also really enjoyed watching the events run and seeing the students enjoy them; it makes all the hard work worth it.”

 

jensenKendra Jensen

Major, minor: Public Relations, Political Science

Committee role: Social Media Chair

“My favorite part about Homecoming was seeing students coming out to all the events and showing their appreciation and love for Winona State.”

 

 

mertensLexie Mertens

Major, minor: Movement Science, Nutrition

Committee role: Parade Chair

“My favorite part about planning Homecoming is actually seeing all of our hard work come together and the joy that this time brings to the campus and its students.”

 

 

pendlAnnie Pendl

Major, minor: Social Work, Criminal Justice and Child Advocacy

Committee role: Coronation Chair and Talent Show Coordinator

“My favorite part of Homecoming was being able to crown WSU’s first Royalty duo and show Winona State the first Superheroes Got Talent Show.”

 

 

stichaMegan Sticha

Major, minor: Human Resources Management and Business Administration

Committee role: Elections Chair

“My favorite part of Homecoming events was putting on the events and meeting all of the students who attended.”

 

 

weiserKallie Weiser

Major, minor: Legal Studies, Political Science

Committee role: T-Shirt Chair

“My favorite part about planning Homecoming events was figuring out what events students would enjoy the most.”

 

 

joe

Joe Reed

WSU title: Student Union / Activities Director

Committee role: Homecoming Advisor

“My favorite part is when it all comes together. It takes a few months of planning, but the true reward is when everything goes well for the week, especially the parade! In 20-plus years of coordinating the parade we never had to cancel because of weather. So, I would like to give a ‘shout out’ to Mother Nature!”

 

tracyTracy Rahim

WSU title: Associate Director of Student Activities & Leadership

Committee role: Homecoming Advisor

“My favorite part was seeing the great ideas and plans that the Homecoming committee came up with actually come to fruition. We planned many new events/activities and they went over better than we thought. We got tremendous feedback from students and will turn many of these new events into new Homecoming traditions! Homecoming is a time for the campus community to come together and celebrate what it means to be a WSU Warrior.”

 

29800968644_718c996830_zTracy Hale

WSU title: Associate Director of Alumni Relations

“Favorite part of Homecoming: Recognizing our Distinguished Alumni and Grand Marshals at the Friday night banquet.”