The California State University, Bakersfield homecoming king and queen were announced Saturday at the homecoming basketball game against Kansas City. During half time, Hakim Rasheed and Denisse Silva were crowned homecoming king and queen.
CSUB’s homecoming king, Hakim Rasheed, is a Senior Criminal Justice Major with a minor in Sociology. He hopes to become an actor one day in film or on a reality show.
CSUB’s homecoming queen Denisse Silva, is a Political Science Major with a minor in Sociology. She plans to pursue Marine Policy and Affairs with a focus in Marine Conservation at a graduate school in Miami.
How did you decide to run for homecoming and why?
Rasheed: I am always up for challenges and new opportunities. I saw it and I said ‘Why not?’ it is my last year here and it would be a good opportunity to run. I am all about the experience. It is something to remember when I grow up.
Silva: Running for homecoming queen was a last minute decision for me. I pushed myself to and it’s my last year here, so I said what the heck, let’s do this. Never did I expect to win.Students
How was your experience running for your Homecoming title?
Rasheed: It was hard: I talked to a bunch of people, campaigned and made advertisements. It was challenging, I worked really hard to get people’s votes.
Silva: I told myself to have fun as I ran for queen, but it did get stressful as I had to juggle school, my job, and ASI position, all while campaigning. I told those that I knew to vote and pushed them to do so. I posted ads on facebook & instagram and handed out flyers to complete strangers to encourage them to vote. The stress paid off in the end.
How has it impacted your life?
Rasheed: It made a good impact of my life. It was a good experience to win and to be there, to get the suit and dress up. The time when I was king, it just was one of the highlights here at CSUB. It shows that a lot of people know me, or want to get to know me and care about me. A lot of people that voted for me I know I have a relationship with them now. I work a lot of places on campus; I would talk to people and develop rapport with them. That helped me a lot.
Silva: Above all, I was so fortunate to have my mom in the audience as they crowned me. Seeing the joy in her face was a blessing.
How did you feel when you won? What does it mean to you?
Rasheed: I was happy. I was excited. At first I was nervous because all these people seeing you and knowing you now. All my hard worked paid off, so I was excited that I won. I felt that I really deserve it. I believe that you have to be active around campus. Cool within clubs, at work, anything that you do. Participating in school events and getting to know people as well as being a leader and a role model [is what being a homecoming king means].
Silva: I was ecstatic. Winning meant that my hard work paid off during my campaign, but most importantly it reassures me that I have reached out and hopefully touched the lives of students through positive encounters.
Did you enjoy the Homecoming Dance?
Rasheed: I had a good time. I spent it with my girlfriend. It was pretty cool wearing the crown and dancing. The photo booth was really cool. The food was good as well. I got to talk to a bunch of people at the dance and thank them. I took pictures with people.
Silva: The dance was amazing. Thank you to Campus Programming for arranging such a wonderful dance. I just wish they had shouted out a congrats to the homecoming court.
Silva: I want to thank all those that voted for me, those that helped me during my campaign, and a special shout out to Class of 2015! Only four months left!
