A week of Homecoming activities at West Virginia University culminated today (Oct. 6) with the crowning of Douglas Ernest, Jr. and Kendra Lobban, as the 2018 king and queen.

The announcement was made during the half-time ceremony at Saturday’s Homecoming football game against Kansas.

Selected by their peers during two days of voting, Lobban and Ernest, Jr. were surrounded by members of the Homecoming Court, the Mountaineer Marching Band along with the Alumni Marching Band, and tens of thousands of cheering fans, including alumni, attending the “Gold Rush” game at Milan Puskar Stadium.

Lobban, a member of the Honors College, is a senior finance major minoring in political science and pre-law and legal studies from Morgantown. She is a member of the Order of Omega, Mountaineer Maniacs, Beta Gamma Sigma International Honorary Society, and member and former president of Chi Omega. She is also the vice president of recruitment for the West Virginia University Panhellenic Association. Lobban has maintained a 4.0 grade-point average and is the recipient of the PROMISE Scholarship and Mountaineer Scholarship. She also works as teaching assistant and office assistant in the College of Business and Economics. She is sponsored by Chi Omega sorority

Ernest, Jr., a senior marketing major minoring in leadership studies form Vienna, serves as the parent/alumni relations chairman for Phi Kappa Psi, president of the Order of Omega, vice president of recruitment for the Interfraternity Council, and holds several leadership positions in the Student Government Association. Ernest, Jr. is the recipient of the PROMISE Scholarship, Diversity Scholarship, and Mountaineer Scholarship. He is also a food delivery driver for Meals on Wheels and a junior counselor for the American Legion Mountaineer Boys State. He is sponsored by Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.

Other queen candidates were: Haley Craig, a member of the Honors College and senior exercise physiology major minoring in leadership studies from Shady Spring; Alexandra Davidson, a senior accounting major minoring in equine studies from Upper Saint Clair, Pennsylvania; Bernadine Kwan Wan Ling, a senior psychology major minoring in political science from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Kristin Moro, a member of the Honors College and senior management information systems major from Roseland, New Jersey, who recently relocated to Northern Virginia.

The other king candidates were Andrew Aluise, a public relations major minoring in business administration and general musicianship from Charleston; David Coram, a senior accounting major minoring in political science from Wheeling; Samuel Hartiens, a senior political science major with an emphasis in pre-law and legal studies from Hedgesville; and Carlton Howard, a senior wildlife and fisheries resources major from Columbus, Ohio.

The 2018 WVU Alumni Association’s Chapter and Service Awards were also presented at halftime.

Dr. Patrice A. Harris (’82 BA, ’86 MA, ’92 MD) is the 2018 Outstanding Alumna, and Neil E. Bolyard (’59 BS, ’63 MA) is the recipient of the David W. Jacobs Lifetime Service Award.

Dr. Brian Lawson (’08 PharmD) is the recipient of the Margaret Buchanan Cole Young Alumni Award, Dr. Larry Rhodes (’84 MD) the James R. McCartney Community Service Award, Bill Peters (’69 BS) the Paul B. “Buck” Martin Award, and Matt Reilly (’11 BS) is the recipient of the John F. Nicholas Jr. Award.

Brien Forst, a WVU alumnus and former patient of WVU Medicine Children’s, and three WVU Medicine Children’s miracle kids served as the Grand Marshals for the annual Homecoming parade Friday evening (Oct. 5).