By April Robertson

The five UA Homecoming queen candidates for 2009 are Mattie Bookhout, Locke Isaacson, Alexandra Kosmitis, Katie Sellers and Kim Smith.

Katie Sellers, a senior biology student, is president of the Student Alumni Board. Sellers said she came to the UA because of the strong community in Fayetteville, which was reminiscent of the community she had in her hometown of Hutchinson, Kan.

“Everyone in my family was a leader in the community,” she said.

Sellers was a leader in every aspect of her life in Hutchinson, through involvement in sports, community service and education. When she arrived in Fayetteville, Sellers said she felt welcomed by the Razorbacks and was drawn to the sense of pride in the community.

At first, Sellers didn’t plan to be a leader in the SAB, but after two and a half years of active service, she faced the opportunity.

“I wanted to experience as much as possible,” Sellers said.

As president, Sellers planned and executed many of the Homecoming events that took place on campus, such as the student talent showcase, parade, pep rally, banner competition, student cook-off and Chancellor G. David Gearhart’s involvement in passing out hot dogs in front of the Arkansas Union.

Mattie Bookhout, president of the Associated Student Government, is excited about being a Homecoming queen candidate this year because she admires the other candidates and the positions that they each hold.

“When I was a freshman, I looked up to this group of girls,” she said. “Now they are all my friends.”

Bookhout, an industrial engineering student, chose the UA because of the welcoming spirit of the campus and staff.

“Originally, I was interviewing with Harvard and Princeton, where they told me, ‘You’d be lucky to get a degree here,’” she said.

The UA provided a friendly contrast because then-Chancellor John A. White told her, “The UA is going to change with or without you, but we would love to have you.”

This helped Bookhout realize she had more opportunities and funding available at the UA.

Among her favorite aspects of the university is the opportunity at the UA to study abroad multiple times. Bookhout has already studied abroad five times and said it is one of the many ways the UA experience can be customized to fit the student.

Bookhout grew up in Little Rock, where her parents gave her enough independence to shape her life.

“I have ended up exactly where they wanted me to be without them telling me what that was,” she said.

Kim Smith, the captain of the Razorback Cheerleading Squad, is a health science major from Hot Springs. Smith is the third vice president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council and is sponsored by the Kappa Iota Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

“Basically, I just wanted to come here because it’s a great family environment and I’m a big family person,” Smith said. “I just really felt welcome when I came here for my visit.”

Smith said her experience on the Homecoming Court has been humbling.

“To have my friends and family really supporting me 100 percent means a lot,” she said.

Panhellenic President Alexandra Kosmitis is also on the Homecoming Court this year. Kosmitis was drawn to the UA because her parents and sister attended, but she was also attracted by the business school because she wanted to earn a marketing major.

As Panhellenic president, Kosmitis meets with the organization’s adviser, leads all the weekly meetings and takes part in each committee. She also meets with the Dean of Students Leadership Advisory Committee on a regular basis and talks to parents of potential students when she helps with university orientation.

Although she has many responsibilities, she said her favorite is giving weekly tours of the campus and meeting new people.

“I really like the people (here) because everyone is really friendly,” she said.

Kosmitis went to high school in Pine Bluff, where she was captain of the cheerleading squad and was part of the National Honors Society, among other organizations.

Locke Isaacson represents the Greek Life Facilitators on the Homecoming Court this year.

When searching for a college, Isaacson said she looked for a small college because she thought she could impact it more. Following this, she thought Rhodes College in Memphis would be ideal. After visiting both Rhodes College and the UA, Isaacson decided to challenge herself by working harder to make an impact at a bigger college.

Isaacson is an honors student in the Walton College of Business and is a marketing major.  She is involved in the American Marketing Association and has an internship at Tyson, where she analyzes point data and assesses company quality to find ways to improve it.

In addition to her marketing major, Isaacson is working on minors in finance and communication and is a member of Pi Beta Phi.

As Panhellenic vice president, Isaacson is in charge of recruitment for rush, marketing Greek life to freshmen students, speaking at student orientation and being the link between the students and chapters.

The winner will be announced at the Homecoming pep rally on Friday, Oct. 30, at the Chi Omega Greek Theater. The announcement will be made by Jeff Long, the UA athletic director. The winner and the rest of the court will be escorted onto the field at halftime during the Homecoming game against Eastern Michigan on Saturday.