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Three Homecoming awards recognize outstanding students and alumni each year. The Ex.C.E.L. Award recognizes two students with outstanding leadership, involvement and academics. The Jennifer Alderdice Homecoming Award recognizes a student who demonstrate outstanding loyalty and dedication. Finally, the Spirit of 1912 Homecoming Award honors KU graduates for their lifelong commitment to the University. Award submissions are due by Friday, September 27 at 8 a.m. CT.
This award honors two students who are selected based on their leadership, communication skills, involvement in the KU community, academic scholarship and their ability to interact and work with a wide variety of students and organizations.
Ex.C.E.L. award recipients each receive a $250 scholarship, and they have the opportunity to apply their leadership skills through exclusive leadership development opportunities in Spring 2024.
The Ex.C.E.L. Award is presented by Konica Minolta.
In her 13 years at the KU Alumni Association, Jennifer Alderdice inspired countless students to become involved and take pride in their University. The 2009 Homecoming Steering Committee created this award to honor Jen, a longtime Steering Committee advisor.
The student award recipients demonstrate Jen’s qualities: dedication, initiative, motivation, positive attitude and contributions to KU.
The Student Alumni Network is pleased to recognize outstanding KU alumni each year during Homecoming. This award was created to acknowledge graduates of the University of Kansas who consistently display school spirit, pride, and tradition throughout their lives.
The “Spirit of 1912” takes its name from two influences—the first Homecoming at KU was held in 1912, and the SAN logo uses the Henry Maloy Jayhawk drawn in 1912.
This award honors two students who are selected based on their leadership, communication skills, involvement in the KU community, academic scholarship and their ability to interact and work with a wide variety of students and organizations.
Ex.C.E.L. award recipients each receive a $250 scholarship, and they have the opportunity to apply their leadership skills by presenting at the Blueprints Leadership Conference held in the spring.
Past Recipients:
1991 — Margaret Hu and Louie Lopez
1992 — Jill Russell and Dustin Daugherty
1993 — Carmen San Martin and Trevor Thompson
1994 — Jennifer Ford and Marc Wilson
1995 — Jill Bechtel and Lorraine Claassen
1996 — Amy Turnbull (Lawrence) and Ronald Chen
1997 — Sasha Flores (Hutchinson) and Aroop Kumar Pal (Lawrence)
1998 — Karen Isley (Sylvania, Ohio) and Kevin Yoder (Hutchinson)
1999 — Brenda Ting-Fai Chung (Hong Kong, China) and Eric Rush (Topeka)
2000 — Kimberly Fuchs (Merriam) and Curtis Sloan (Powhattan)
2001 — Anneliese Stoever (Overland Park) and Robert McKenney (Clinton, Mo.)
2002 — Erin Michaelis (Hays) and Irakli Mirazashvili (Ness City)
2003 — Casey Collier (Shawnee) and Jacob Williams (Topeka)
2004 — Susan Henry (Fort Scott) and Gaston Araoz (La Paz, Bolivia)
2005 — Jenna Sheldon-Sherman (Lawrence) and Greyson Clymer (Prairie Village)
2006 — Lauren Pierson (Prairie Village) and Scott Ferguson (Leawood)
2007 — Ashley Bloom (Hutchinson) and Peter Curzon (Phoenix, Ariz.)
2008 — Rachel Burchfield (Topeka) and Nathan Mack (Lawrence)
2009 — Ashley Moser (Topeka) and Matt Enriquez (Topeka)
2010 — Tonia Salas (Alameda, Calif.) and Michael Wade Smith (Goodland)
2011 — Emily Lamb (Lawrence) and Hunter Hess (McPherson)
2012 — Kathryn Hoven (Chester, N.J.) and Brandon Rogers (Plano, Texas)
2013 — Natalie Scott (Topeka) and Bryne Gonzalez (Topeka)
2014 — Ellie Eastes (Pratt) and Graham Naasz (Overland Park)
2015 — Hannah Reinhart (Parkville, Missouri) and Evan Traylor (Edmond, Oklahoma)
2016 — Jordan Hildenbrand (Blue Springs, Missouri) and Abdoulie Njai (Wichita)
2017 — Sana Cheema (Hays, Kansas) and Zoya Khan (Overland Park, Kansas)
2018 — Jose Montoya (Los Lunas, New Mexico) and Jonnette Oakes (Topeka)
2019 — Tiara Floyd (Junction City), Daphne Lin (Coffeyville), and Jalynn Tann (Centennial, Colorado)
2020 — Elaine Pope (Overland Park) and Adrian Romero (Tegucigalpa, Honduras)
2021 — Javen Betts (Kansas City, Kansas), Nikki Brown (Kansas City, Missouri), and Lily Nguyen (Wichita)
2022 — Aylar Atadurdyyeva (Ashgabat, Turkmenistan), Miracle Emenuga (Lagos, Nigeria), and Mikayla Leader (Wichita)
2023 — Libby Frost (WaKeeney) and Thanh Tan Nguyen (Phu Yen, Vietnam)
In her 13 years at the University of Kansas Alumni Association, Jennifer Alderdice motivated countless students to become involved and take pride in the University. As assistant vice president, she organized hundreds of events for the Student Alumni Association and the KU community.
Jen’s motivation and dedication to our University are inspiring, and those who possess her attributes should be recognized. The 2009 Homecoming Steering Committee created this award to honor Jen, a longtime Steering Committee advisor. Jen left the Alumni Association after she and her husband adopted a baby in 2009.
The winner of the Jennifer Alderdice Homecoming Award will be selected based on outstanding dedication, initiative, motivation, positive attitude, and contributions to KU – in other words, the Jayhawk who best emulates the qualities of Jen Alderdice. The winner will be recognized during Homecoming Week.
Past Recipients:
2009 — Hunter Hess (McPherson)
2010 — Jill Nowak (McPherson)
2011 — Laken Avonne Rapier
2012 — Emily Ferbezar
2013 — Miranda Wagner
2014 — Caleb Bobo
2015 — Ashley Maska (Springfield, Missouri)
2016 — Sarah Pickert (Wichita, Kansas)
2017 — Anna Perrone (Modesto, California)
2018 — Brianna Mears (Georgetown, Texas)
2019 — Julie Jorgensen (Cedar Falls, Iowa)
2020 — Katy Wagner (Topeka, Kansas)
2021 — Navya Singh (Chandigarh, India)
2022 — Thanh Tan Nguyen (Phu Yen, Vietnam)
2023 — Yash Prajapati (Gujarat, India)
The Spirit of 1912 Award acknowledges KU graduates who consistently display school spirit, pride and tradition throughout their lives. The award takes its name from two KU milestones—1912 was the year of the first KU Homecoming and the first official Jayhawk logo, created by Henry Maloy.
The Spirit of 1912 Award honors Rich and Judy Billings of Lakewood, Colo., both 1957 KU graduates who created an endowment in 2011 to fund future editions of Homecoming.
Past Recipients:
2007 — Rich, c’57, and Judy Howard Billings, d’57 (Lakewood, Colo.)
2010 — Margey Wallet Frederick, j’69, g’78, and the late Bob Frederick, d’62, g’64, EdD’84 (Lawrence)
2011 — Amy Hurst, c’74 (Whitmore Lake, MI)
2012 — Marching Jayhawks Alumni Band
2013 — Topeka Corvette Club
2014 — Scott Simpson, ’89
2015 — Joe, b’61, and Susan Morris
2016 — Linda Ellis Sims, e’79
2017 — Larry, c’73, and Nancy Stoppel, d’73
2018 — Howard, b’79, and Debra Cohen, assoc.
2019 — Warren, e’50, and Mary Corman, c’73, h’74
2021 — Andrew, c’82, and Cecilia Romero Godwin, c’82
2022 — Andrew, ’04 and Lauren Wymore, d’06
2023 — Megh Knappenberger, f’04
In 1925, the first Homecoming Queen was crowned at KU, but the ceremony did not become tradition until 1933. A new queen was crowned each year until 1969, when anti-war demonstrations and stormy race relations led to the committee’s decision that it was “more appropriate to recognize those who embody the academic spirit for which this community was established.”
Past Homecoming Queens:
1925 — Anna Lois Voights
1933 — Lucy Edna Trees
1934 — Avanell Bushmeyer
1935 — Betty Grove
1936 — Betty Ruth Smith
1937 — Dorris Johnson
1938 — Denny Lemoine
1939 — Barbara Edmunds
1940 — Greta Gibson
1941 — Louise Lockhard
1942 — Ruth Anna Bovaird
1943 — Heloise Hillbrand
1944 — Gwen Kistler
1945 — Joy Godbehere
1946 — Nina Green
1947 — Carolyn Campbell
1948 — Ann Cowger
1949 — Diane Lee Brewster
1950 — Ada Hatfield
1951 — Jeannine Neihart
1952 — Mary Louise Lavy
1953 — Barbara Korn
1954 — Betty Davis
1955 — Marjorie Majoney
1956 — Susie Stout
1957 — Marcia Johnson
1958 — Susie Kastner
1959 — Judy Gorton
1960 — Janice Guyot
1961 — Mary Nan Scammon
1962 — Barbara Schmidt
1963 — Karen Vice
1964 — Cathy Bergtrom
1965 — Muff Yankey
1966 — Cindy Dickson
1967 — Nancy Miller
1968 — Susan Wassenberg
1969 — Janet Merrick
We build lifelong relationships that strengthen the University of Kansas and the legacy of excellence embodied by its students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends.
Jayhawk Welcome Center at Adams Alumni Center
1266 Oread Ave., Lawrence, KS 66045
kualumni@kualumni.org | 800.584.2957
Your membership in the KU Alumni Association is the single most powerful way to make all of KU stronger, including the value of your own degree. Through your membership, the Association:
