On Saturday, Florida Atlantic University announced Elijah Roberson and Tabatha Spinks as 2025 Homecoming Royals, and Jamahl Hanna and Danielle Jerkins as Soaring Royals during the Homecoming football game against the University of Tulsa’s Golden Hurricanes. 

This announcement served as the end of FAU’s 2025 Homecoming week, hosted by FAU’s Student Government. From hosting fireworks shows to FAU’s Program Board honoring veterans with a 5k run, the two-week-long annual Homecoming celebration is an event where alumni can return to their alma mater and reconnect with the campus. 

Homecoming Week officially culminated this Saturday, welcoming four students who were chosen to represent FAU going forward. With a total of 14 nominees, students spent the past 10 days campaigning to win the hearts of their fellow voters. 

Hearing his name officially announced as the male Homecoming Royal, Elijah Roberson immediately paused to think about the communities that had gotten him to this place, as well as his faith. 

Becoming the first member of Phi Beta Sigma, a historically Black Fraternity, to ever win FAU’s Homecoming Royal King, Roberson, a senior in political science, made history. 

Holding multiple roles on campus, such as being the Vice President of the Black Student Union, the Membership Chair of the National Council of Negro Women, and the secretary for the Alpha Delta Iota chapter, FAU’s extension of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Roberson garnered a lot of support during his official campaign.

Centering his campaign on representation and leadership, Roberson utilized social media and tabling to reach out to FAU’s student body. Roberson was inspired to run for Homecoming Court because he wanted to be a visible leader on FAU’s campus, representing all the fraternities and clubs he’s a part of. 

“Who are you when you step on this campus?” said Roberson. “When someone sees me, they say, ‘That’s Student Government.’ When someone sees me, they say, ‘That’s Black Student Union.’ When someone sees me, they say, “That’s Sigma, they see a leader on campus that they can follow… someone they can get inspiration from.”

Winning this Saturday wasn’t just about FAU. While campaigning, Roberson’s personal life weighed heavily on his plans; he took the utmost appreciation in representing his grandparents when he won.

“Before the day of Homecoming, I buried my grandfather, and this is the week of the anniversary of my grandmother passing,” said Roberson. “So I stand on their shoulders to be here and to represent them, my family, my organizations, everybody, because it takes a lot, it takes a lot to stand here…”

Alongside Roberson, for the win of the female 2025 Homecoming Royalty, stood Tabatha Spinks. A biological sciences senior, Spinks became the first woman from the College Panhellenic Association to win a crown in over 12 years. 

“Shocked,” said Spinks, as she described her initial reaction to winning. “ I was crying my eyes out, because it’s such an amazing accomplishment… so I officially broke the record.” 

Spinks had previously run for Homecoming Court in 2024, but did not win. Finally taking home the crown this year, Spinks credits her win to her ability to personally connect with voters. 

She was inspired to run for homecoming because she had also run for homecoming in high school, and she wanted to leave FAU with no regrets, fully embracing the campus tradition. 

“Last year, the interviews were a little bit different,” Spinks said. “It was more of a submission video. This year, I had an actual interview with people, and I was really able to express myself…I was able to let my personality shine.”

Now that she’s won, Spinks plans to represent FAU as homecoming queen by encouraging others to get involved. Excited to return to campus once she graduates, Spinks looks forward to future events and supporting her sorority, Alpha Delta Pi.

For the first time, FAU’s Homecoming Court introduced a new category, Soaring Royals, a crown reserved for underclassmen only. As the first-ever winners of this new addition, Jamahl Hanna and Danielle Jerkins made history. 

Jamahl Hanna, a sophomore film student, had a more unconventional journey to becoming the first male to win Homing Court’s Soaring Royal. Hanna expressed that he was a little surprised when he won, due to his engagement with students through conversation around campus rather than focusing on social media. 

Hanna built connections on FAU’s Breezeway, but also focused on interpersonal connections. Hanna found support through serving as a chair on the Program Board, connecting with his classmates, attending events, and even tailgating. He found himself emceeing FAU’s biggest events, such as this year’s Bonfire Music Festival. According to a previous University Press article, he also emceed Program Board and Fashion Forward’s fashion show in October. 

“This world has become more so about the technological and the social media side…but I failed to realize that fate brought me here by just being kind to a lot of people beforehand, or even going out for Homecoming. I was just around a lot of people,” said Hanna. 

 “As you can see from me winning, it’s all because of people working together to help me. A lot of people told me that they were putting my name in certain places, and, you know, bringing me up in certain places, even when it wasn’t even about me,” said Hanna. “They just did it, and it brought me into the circle enough to where they [students] voted for me.”

Hanna’s Soaring Royal win is more than just a crown; it’s a way to give back to the school that helped him find his way when he was new. 

“I think that being the Soaring Royal at FAU is leading with your heart, leading with kindness, and being there for the people that you swear to protect and help out,” he said. “This is a learning institution, and we all want the best for each other, because we are the next generation coming up.”

Danielle Jerkins, a freshman elementary education major, became FAU’s Homecoming Court’s first female Soaring Royal. Jerkins discovered the new category through FAU’s Legacy 61, an immersive retreat that allows new students to expand their wings into the FAU community. 

Jerkins highlighted that not once did she feel like the Homecoming Court room was competitive or negative; instead, they all helped each other out when they got the chance. Perkins spent the week leading up to the announcement by tabling on the Breezeway, with help from Roberson and Anasia Been, another Soaring Royal candidate, who helped her get her name out to the campus. 

“It’s [Soaring Royal] very special to be like the first generation of winners,” Jerkins said. “This moment means so much to me.”

She said she hopes her win inspires other freshmen to get involved and believe in their own potential.

“I’m going to represent the freshmen by being a leader,” Jerkins said. “I want to get involved in as much as I can, get my face out there, for all the freshmen…to know that even though you’re young and just getting here, you can still make an impact.”

Kaii Thompson is the Culture Reporter for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email kaiiliburdthompson@gmail.com.