Seniors Lizzie Penola and Lincoln Teti pose for a photo as homecoming queen and king. Courtesy | Lizzie Penola

Lizzie Penola was named 2024 homecoming queen.

How were you selected for homecoming court?

I’m a Chi Omega, and the tradition for us is that the seniors anonymously vote for our homecoming queen nomination. 

Were you surprised when you won?

I was. The odds are obviously that I wouldn’t, so, of course, it was a great surprise when I did. 

How did you react?

When they called my name, I felt really grateful. Seeing all my friends run toward me was so awesome. At the end of the day, they’re the reason I won — they nominated me after all — so to be celebrated and cheered on by them was special and something I always want to remember. 

Do you have any words of wisdom for those who might want to make it onto homecoming court?

Being nominated is strange because you really don’t have any control over it, and yet you’re “running” against other people, and that feels kind of wrong, especially when the whole court is full of kind and awesome people, like this year.  So if you find yourself on homecoming court, just be excited you get to represent your part of campus — it’s such an honor. And enjoy your last homecoming week. 

How did you go about choosing your dress?

I wanted to wear a long dress, and green goes well with Chi O red, which all my friends were wearing, so it was an easy choice. It’s also just one of my favorite dresses I own. 

Has this affected or changed your Hillsdale experience?

Homecoming was a special day I think I’ll remember for a long time. I love Hillsdale, and I’m sad my time here is coming to an end. It’s nice to feel celebrated and recognized by a school I love so much. I think that’s the best part. It definitely added to an already great start to senior year. 

Lincoln Teti was named 2024 homecoming king.

How did you get selected for homecoming court? 

I did not really campaign, but there were definitely friends doing their part to pull strings for me in the background. A crucial detail here is that there’s been a GroupMe called “The Lincoln Fan Club” since my freshman year, and many shenanigans were pulled in that chat to get me nominated, I’m sure. I was banned from the chat on the day it was created, so I can’t really tell you the details of those shenanigans.

Were you surprised?

I don’t know that I really came in with expectations. You really don’t know how things like this are going to shake out, and the other guys on the court are great and would’ve made excellent kings. I wasn’t shocked to hear my name announced, since one of us seven was going to win, but, in a larger sense, I was — if you had asked me as a freshman to predict what I would do in my college career, this is probably the last thing I would’ve predicted.

When they called your name, how did you feel? What was your reaction?

I think my reaction was pretty much “Wow, this is crazy” and “We did it: Harbor threepeat.” 

Do you have any words of wisdom for those who might want to make it onto homecoming court?

Recent history would suggest that living at the Harbor has perhaps the strongest correlation with becoming homecoming king. Make some friends, especially if they’re the types that would make a cult of personality about you as a joke, then they can barnstorm for you, and you can stay above the fray. In all seriousness, I don’t really think getting on the court, and certainly winning, is really something under your control very much. The best you can do is try to act like a genuinely good and fun human being with a good sense of humor. That’s no surefire method, but you should try to do those things anyway, and if you end up on the court, cool. If you don’t, you’re still cool.

How does it feel to follow in the footsteps of Truman Kjos?

I’m afraid I must correct you: This is Harbor’s third straight homecoming king, after Paul Trainor in 2022. I’d say that’s a pretty impressive streak. I stand on the shoulders of giants—we had the senior class president and vice president last year; we’ve had multiple concertmasters in the orchestra. It’s hard to think of a more outstanding group of people to be a part of than Harbor men. I will say with regard to Truman in particular that we were probably pretty similar candidates—fairly similar personalities and interests, both secretary of the Applied Math Club at the time of our elections, and we even lived in the same room last year. Truman’s the best, and I can’t think of a better king to succeed.

How has this affected or changed your Hillsdale experience?

It’s pretty crazy to be homecoming king — you get the warm fuzzy feeling that people want to talk to you, and you get to feel like you’re the big cheese on campus. In all seriousness, though, I think it underscores for me how I’ve been affected by the friendliness and wisdom of everyone at Hillsdale over the last three-plus years. I wouldn’t be the person I am now without everyone. I’ll spare everyone the slogan, but it’s not wrong.