VCU’s 2019 homecoming king says honor is ‘more than just a crown’
Spencer Vincent was crowned homecoming king during the men's basketball game on Friday. Photo by Jon Mirador
Christina Amano Dolan, Contributing Writer
Amid a crowd of roaring Rams fans, Spencer Vincent waited along with the rest of the Homecoming Court for the halftime mark. Vincent, after anxiously waiting for the results during Friday’s basketball game, said he was happily surprised to be announced as the 2019 Homecoming King.
He felt nervous. After a long week of fun activities including lip-syncing, social media challenges and other campaigning activities, it was a “toss-up” of who would claim the crown.
Vincent says Homecoming week was more than just a crown to him. He has been involved with the Activities Programming Board, or APB, since his arrival at VCU and has since found a passion for student affairs.
He envisioned a different life for himself when first transferring to VCU in the fall of 2016. After growing up in Tacoma, Washington, Vincent was initially drawn to the Richmond campus due to its unique but familiar city life.
“I picked VCU because I really liked the city of Richmond,” Vincent said. “It reminds me of a little version of Seattle in a sense.”
After transferring from Thomas Nelson Community College, he searched for ways to acquaint himself quickly with his new school. He soon discovered the activities the APB held for Homecoming week, applied for Homecoming Court and was named the 2016 Homecoming Lord for his freshman class. After his first crowning, Vincent fell in love with VCU and found a new career path.
“When I first did Homecoming Court I met a lot of different people,” Vincent said. “They were involved in student affairs and telling me ‘You can have this as a job,’ and I really liked it.”
First arriving at VCU with a focus in pharmaceutical studies, Vincent changed his major to interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in business communications. He says he hopes to one day become the dean of student affairs for a university.
“I just like how you are able to really change students’ lives for the better,” Vincent said. “I feel like college is a very trying time in students’ lives, and I want to be someone to lean on for students.”
Vincent is on the board of trustees for the Association of College Unions International, which represents student activity centers and student unions in the U.S. He is also a member of the Eta Xi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi and is in charge of its new member presentation.
Keeping up with a busy schedule as he works through his senior year, Vincent said he looks back on his involvement over the years with the APB’s Homecoming Court with gratitude.
“APB is really amazing at what they do, and I made the best of friends in Homecoming Court from the first year of doing it,” Vincent said. “I feel like everyone should apply for it because this is what helped me find what I was passionate about.”
