Friday night at the University of Arizona’s Homecoming bonfire, students, family and alumni gathered to kick off Homecoming Week and see the crowning of the 2019 Homecoming king and queen.
At the event the Bobcats Senior Honorary announced the newest Homecoming king to be Hunter Lindgren and the newest Homecoming queen to be Brigid Clark. The Daily Wildcat talked with UA’s Homecoming royalty about school spirit, their time at the UA and their plans for the future.
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Daily Wildcat: Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
Hunter Lindgren: I am a senior double majoring in marketing and business management.
Brigid Clark: I am from Illinois and I am currently the vice president of Chi Omega. I am applying for the Peace Corps right now for after graduation. I really like hot yoga; it’s like my favorite thing to do.
DW: What does Homecoming mean to you?
HL: Homecoming is just a great experience. It really brings back so many familiar faces and people that just have such a passion for the U of A and they kind of bring all those people onto campus for one weekend or one week. It is something super special that I think everyone gets to enjoy. So I think it’s super inclusive. It’s fun, it’s based on tradition — which is something that I think is super valuable — and overall just a great experience.
BC: This means so much to me. Like, I can’t even wrap my head around how cool it is and it made me realize how much love and support I have here and how much I love the U of A.
DW: What is your favorite Homecoming memory or UA memory?
HL: Other than this, I would say before I was actually a student here I came and got a tour and went to a football game. And [at] that football game we actually ended up rushing the field and I got to do that with the students that time and it was really what convinced me to go to the U of A. It showed me how much passion this school has for its athletics and the school itself and so it was really just a great experience and brought me here.
BC: My favorite Homecoming memory is definitely the [Lighting of A Mountain]* freshman year. We went on top of [a] garage and watched it with everyone and it was really fun.
My favorite U of A memory — it is a cliché — but just being reunited with everyone for senior year. Like everyone, when we came back and I saw my friend who studied abroad and all my friends were together. We were like, “It’s senior year!” It was so emotional and happy, kind of bitter-sweet.
DW: What made you run in the first place?
HL: Luckily, I was nominated by the Chain Gang Junior Honorary and the Eller Leadership Board, and they kind of just reached out to me and said they thought I would be a great fit for it and so I was lucky enough to be nominated by them. From that moment, though, I was really excited for the process and wanted to get involved with the U of A and this is the perfect way to do that.
BC: Well, one of my friends from Chi Omega nominated me and at first I was like, “Really? I don’t think I deserve this.” And throughout the process it just kind of made me realize why I am at the U of A. I don’t know, it made me realize how much I love the U of A and how many great, amazing friends I have. It is just such a fun thing to do.
DW: What are your future goals?
HL: I am looking to graduate this May, and then I am currently job searching, looking for jobs in the marketing field and soon hoping to get into that field no matter the location and always keeping the U of A close to my heart.
BC: I eventually want to become a nurse practitioner one day — a pediatric nurse practitioner. I am also applying for the Peace Corps. After college, I will probably go home to Chicago for a little bit and then wherever life takes me.
*This quote was changed to reflect Clark’s intended response. After the reporting of this article, Clark informed the Daily WIldcat that she had given the wrong event during her interview.
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