Cal Poly football players were crowned the victors of Saturday night’s game against Idaho State, but the gold did not stop there. Chosen from a homecoming court made up of 12 accomplished students selected from Cal Poly’s six colleges, Chantal Herrera and Hannah Simons made their way down center field as royalty.
The Cal Poly Alumni Association organizes the homecoming court each year by asking that all six colleges nominate their two highest-achieving students. From that point, the decision is opened up to students to vote on.
Agricultural communication senior Chantal Herrera grew up picking lettuce and strawberries with her father and said she knows how important it is to appreciate the labor that goes into putting fresh food on the table. She is a first-generation student and has traveled to 31 states as an intern for John Deere, a company specializing in machinery for agriculture, construction and forestry.
Herrera has shown no signs of stopping in pursuit of her goals. She will continue to travel the rest of the country — and abroad — as a full-time John Deere employee beginning January 2019.
When asked how she planned to celebrate the rest of her evening, Herrera said she wanted to have dinner with her stepfather, who had been stationed in San Diego.
Physics senior Hannah Simons is the president of the Society of Physics Students, after previously serving as the president of the Women in Physics club. Simons’ drive also spreads to her grades, with a top GPA in the department.
While only Herrera and Simons were bestowed with crowning glory, the whole court had the chance to bond with each other throughout the weekend.
“We went to the president’s banquet last night, and on Thursday there was a pizza party for everybody to get to know each other,” psychology senior Emma Cohen said.
The entire Homecoming Court was invited to the Homecoming game for the crowning of the winners.
