MAIREAD BROCK
PHOTOGRAPHER
BRYCE BIRCHMEIER
STAFF WRITER
9/30/2024
This year Alma College had ten Royal Scot finalists, including Abigale Whitford (’25), Ainsley Kinney (’25), Chloe Anderson (’26), Dalanie Mott (’25), Emmie Trainor (’25), Mallory Fenskie (’26), Matthew Przepiora (’25), Rebecca Kobylas (’25), Shayla Hengesbach (’25) and Sophia Cooney (’25). After a vote by the student body faculty and staff the four Royal Scots included Abigale Whitford, Chloe Anderson, Dalanie Mott and Rebecca Kobylas, but what is a Royal Scot?
Brendan Murdie, the Assistant Director of Student Engagement, said “The Royal Scots is a recent evolution of the old Homecoming Court and King and Queen system. The tradition of the Homecoming Court has been going on for at least 60 years and probably longer.”
The designation does not just stand to fill in for the king and queen, but it has evolved to focus on student involvement at Alma College. To become a Royal Scot, a student must first be nominated, as Kobylas stated “To become a Royal Scot, first you are nominated at the end of the prior school year. Alma sends out a form for students to submit names of people they think would be a good representative during homecoming.”
The nominees then submitted evidence of their campus involvements, as Anderson said “To be considered for a Royal Scot, I had to submit my resume and a short essay to describe topics such as my impact on Alma College, Alma College’s impact on you, Campus Organizations you’ve been a part of, and Service projects you’ve been involved in.” Anderson also said, “It was a good opportunity for me to express my gratitude for the opportunities I have had and those who have helped me get where I am today.”
Each finalist had an array of compelling reasons for wanting to be a Royal Scot. Mott said “It provides an opportunity to inspire other students to get involved and make a difference, just as I have tried to do over the past four years. Serving on the court allows me to celebrate the experiences that have shaped my college years and to represent Alma, the town I grew up in, as a positive role model.”
One Royal Scot was looking to inspire and share their story on how they got involved on campus. Whitford said, “I realized that this would be a perfect opportunity for me to represent our Alternative Breaks program here at Alma and the importance of it to our community and other communities.” Whitford also mentions the impact this program has had saying “This program has given so much to me through the opportunities of being able to give to others and I believe it’s important for every student to experience an alternative break at least once throughout their time here at Alma.”
Another Royal Scot saw it as a reflection opportunity to look over her past years as Alma. Kobylas said, “Being a Royal Scot has shown me how far I have come throughout the past three years. I am incredibly grateful for all the relationships I have formed at Alma and for all the people I have in my corner. We are very blessed to have the community we do here and being a Royal Scot reminds me of that.”
The Royal Scots were represented in the homecoming parade and game this past weekend.
The Almanian: News 
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