Candidates for West Virginia University’s 2011 Homecoming court have been selected. The five female and five male candidates will now compete for the title of king and queen.

Homecoming queen candidates are: Erin Dailey from Danville, Pa., Julie Diamond from Morgantown, Emily Dill from Scott Depot, Ellie McCoy from Charleston and Kathryn Pappa from Wheeling.

Homecoming king candidates are: Evan Bonnstetter from Morgantown, Alex Folio from Clarksburg, Andrew Heckler from Morgantown, Brett Phillips from Grafton and Christopher Smith from St. Albans.

The candidates will begin campaigning at midnight on Monday (Sept. 18). Voting will take place on Sept. 28-29 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at booths across campus. Booths are available at the Evansdale Residential Complex, Mountainlair and College of Law. Students will not be allowed to vote through MIX as in past years.

The entire court will participate in the Homecoming parade down High Street, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 30.

The 2011 Homecoming king and queen will be crowned during a halftime ceremony at the WVU vs. Bowling Green State University football game, which is on Oct. 1 at Milan Puskar Stadium. That game will kick off at 3:30 p.m.

A brief bio for each candidate follows:

Homecoming Queen Candidates:

Erin Dailey is a marketing major from Danville, Pa. She is a member of Sigma Kappa sorority and former vice president of scholarship at the sorority. In addition, she is vice president of public relations for Alpha Kappa Psi – the professional business fraternity, vice president of public relations for the Panhellenic Council Executive Board, WVU Student Ambassador for the College of Business and Economics and a campus tour guide. She was the vice president of the Marketing Club last year. She is a recipient of the Blue and Gold Scholarship and is on the Dean’s list. Her community activities include: Relay for Life, March of Dimes and Toys for Tots among others. She is the daughter of Joan and Ralph Dailey. She is sponsored by the Sigma Kappa sorority.

Julie Diamond is a biology and mathematics double major from Morgantown. She is the vice president for the Theta Chapter of Chi Omega Sorority sorority and a member of the Beta Beta Beta biology fraternity. Diamond is a recipient of the West Virginia PROMISE Scholarship, Presidential Scholarship, Presidential Award for Excellence and Scholarship and is in the Honors College. In addition, she was selected as the sole undergraduate representative on the search committee for the new WVU vice president for research. Her community activities include Relay for Life, Rosenbaum Family House, Monongalia General Hospital, SHOP and Make-A-Wish Foundation; she received a Community Service Award for more than 200 hours of volunteer work. She is the daughter of Harvey and Theresa Diamond. She is sponsored by the Theta Chapter of Chi Omega Sorority.

Emily Dill is an elementary education major from Scott Depot, W.Va. She is the director of member education for Alpha Phi sorority and is a member of Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society. Additionally, she serves as the vice president of scholarship for WVU’s National Panhellenic Council. Dill is a recipient of the West Virginia PROMISE Scholarship, Presidential Scholarship, the Leon McCoy Scholarship and is in the Honors College. Dill has remained on the President’s List since her first semester of college. Her volunteer activities include: WV Healthy Kids, WV Governor’s Internship Mentor, Rosenbaum Family House, Red Dress Gala and 5K Race for Your Heart. She is the daughter of John and Tammy Dill. She is sponsored by Alpha Phi sorority.

Ellie McCoy is a secondary education major from Charleston. She serves as the house chair for Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority as well as serving on the standards committee, and is the vice president of judicial affairs for WVU’s National Panhellenic Council. McCoy is a recipient of the West Virginia PROMISE Scholarship, and is a member of the Canterbury Christian Fellowship. Her community activities include: Morgantown Boys & Girls Club, Kappa Klassic Golf Tournament, WVU Children’s Hospital, Young Life, and Ligonier Camp and Conference Center. McCoy works as a tour leader at WVU’s Visitors Resource Center. She is the daughter of William and Mary McCoy. She is sponsored by Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

Kathryn Pappa is a public relations major from Wheeling. She is a member of Alpha Phi sorority, Phi Sigma Theta National Honor Society and is the recruitment counselor for WVU’s National Panhellenic Council. Other campus activities include U92 Radio Station and Student Government Association in 2008. She is a recipient of the West Virginia PROMISE Scholarship, Mountaineer Scholarship and is on the National Honor Roll. Her community activities include the Red Cross Blood Drive and the Red Dress Gala with Monongalia General Hospital. She is the daughter of Nancy Pappa. She is sponsored by Alpha Phi sorority.

Homecoming King Candidates:

Evan Bonnstetter is a public relations and Spanish double-major from Morgantown. He is part of the WVU club tennis team and the Alpha Kappi Psi business fraternity, where he has held the positions of pledge class community service chair, pledge board, pledge master and warden. He is a student liaison for the Gold and Blue Student Ambassadors and was part of the Student Government Association from 2009-11. Bonnstetter is a member of the Honors College, an instructor of an Honors 199 class and Honors In-Hall tutor. His community activities include: Ronald McDonald House, Sundale Nursing Home and Morgantown Public Library Activities, among others. He is the son of Dennis and Cathy Bonnstetter. He is sponsored by the WVU club tennis team.

Alex Folio is a multidisciplinary studies major from Clarksburg. He is currently the vice president of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, the public relations chairman of the Inter-Fraternity Council and is part of the Italian American Organization. In addition, he is the executive director of neighborhood associations with the Student Government Association. His fraternity, with his help, was named the Most Philanthropic Fraternity on Campus last year. Folio was the alumni relations chairman of Pi Kappa Alpha in 2010. His community activities include: March of Dimes Foundation, American Red Cross, United Way, American Cancer Society and Clarksburg Mission, among others. He is the son of Joseph A. and LeeAnn C. Folio. Folio is sponsored by Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.

Andrew Heckler is an international studies major from Morgantown. He is a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity and is a member of the U.S. Army. He has served three wartime deployments to the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan. In addition, Heckler has facilitated multinational intelligence support between NATO and U.S. forces and disseminated actionable intelligence as a Human Intelligence Collector. Heckler has been part of the President’s and Dean’s List. He is a member of Sigma Alpha Lambda National Honors Organization, Phi Sigma Theta National Honors Society, Veterans of WVU, Good Judgment Team, American Political Science Association and Young Atlanticist, Young Professional in Foreign Policy. He is the son of William and Toni Heckler. He is sponsored by Sigma Nu.

Brett Phillips is an exercise physiology major with an emphasis in aquatic therapy from Grafton. He is the president of the Exercise Physiology Club, a tour guide at the WVU Visitors Center and a member of the WVU club tennis team; In addition, he developed and teaches an Honors Exercise Physiology 199 course. He also created and was the head of curriculum for the first Honors Adventure WV trip. Phillips is a recipient of the PROMISE, Valedictorian and Mountaineer scholarships; He is also on the President’s and Dean’s List. His community activities include: Aquatic Exercise Association and Arthritis Foundation Aquatic Program, among others. He is the son of Donna and Donnie Phillips. He is sponsored by the Mountaineer Adventure Program.

Christopher Smith is a philosophy and women’s studies double-major from St. Albans. He is the president and re-charterer of the WVU Chapter of Circle K International and president and founder of the Mountaineer Association for Public Speaking. Smith is the programming coordinator for the WVU Chapter of Mortarboard and a resident assistant at Honors Hall; he is a member of the Ethics Bowl Team, Honors Student Association, National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Honors College. Smith was designated as a Presidential Achievement Scholar by the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. His community activities include: Caritas House, Christian Help and Big Brothers, Big Sisters, among others. He is the son of Dale and Linda Smith. He is sponsored by the WVU Circle K International organization.

For more information on 2011 Homecoming, visit http://homecoming.wvu.edu.

Homecoming is a great time to remember days gone by. Share with us your own WVU memories through the University’s Heritage Project. Do you have a special recollection from WVU Homecoming? Tell us at http://heritageproject.wvu.edu/share_a_message.

-WVU-

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td/09/15/11

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