Organizations, departments showcase SEU spirit at second annual homecoming parade

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Evan Younger / Hilltop Views

Homecoming’s second annual parade cultivates community, school spirit and tradition.

The St. Edward’s homecoming parade took place Oct 29. This is the second year St. Edward’s has featured a parade and the first year where homecoming has been celebrated in the fall. Students, alumni, parents and faculty gathered early Saturday morning to see their fellow Hilltoppers march across campus and showcase their school spirit.

“(It was) so much fun, there were a lot of different groups here today,” junior Zach Benoit said. “I really liked the marching band. It was a cool vibe.”

William B. Travis High School Marching Band serenades the hilltop by playing rhythmic melodies and some familiar hits. (Evan Younger / Hilltop Views)

The parade was a campus-wide celebration, featuring over 20 different departments and organizations, each with their own themes that made them stand out as they walked down Moody Drive. Themes varied from “space” to “cockroach research,” all of which emphasized the week’s celebration spirit.

“We did different decades of cheer … we were trying to do different decades for alumni, just to show cheer has been here for a while,” Cheer Captain Danika Morningstar said.

Students prepared for weeks leading up to the parade by having meetings, making costumes, choreographing dances and creating props that represent their organization or department. 

As one of homecoming’s main events, the parade cultivated school spirit while highlighting some of the most notable campus happenings of the semester, like the reinstatement of cheer as a varsity sport.

SEU Cheerleaders arrive on the scene in high-spirits to lead the community in the parade celebration. (Evan Younger / Hilltop Views)

“We are just excited to be on campus doing stuff, because being a club team, we didn’t really have that opportunity, and so now we are able to do that which is super fun,” Morningstar said.

For another campus organization, College Assistance Migrant Program, marching in the parade took on a large meaning for its members due to the celebration of their 50th anniversary this year.

“It feels great because CAMP gave me everything,” freshman Justin Trevino said. “They are the main reason I’m able to be at this school, and they gave me the opportunity, so it feels great I can give back.”

Being featured in the homecoming parade gave clubs and organizations a chance to showcase their unique mission. 

“We just wanna be a welcoming community really: another family away from home,” Janice Jefferson, Black Student Association’s event coordinator, said.

Students, alum and faculty from the Biology Department take pride in strutting their plush microbes, cockroach costumes and dinosaur friends. Showing all the joys and wonders of the department. (Evan Younger / Hilltop Views)

As homecoming on the Hilltop came to an end, students that attended the parade had the opportunity to show off their school spirit and connect with their fellow classmates.

“I think it’s just a way of getting involved,” junior Camilla Miranda said. “I think it’s pretty fun also because we’re part of the bio department; we kinda know everyone in the bio department and it does make a bond.”

Topper mascot puffs their chest decorated in the traditional St. Ed’s colors blue and gold. (Evan Younger / Hilltop Views)
The Del Valle Air Force JROTC  takes point with the American and Texas flag in hand. (Evan Younger / Hilltop Views)
Forensic Association Committed to Truth (FACT) member Jazmine Collins stands at the front with a poster held high, smiling with enthusiasm as she represents her org. (Evan Younger / Hilltop Views)
Dancers from SEU Ballet Folklórico honor ancestral traditions through a Concheros piece in honor of Dia de Los Muertos with their own SEU twist called “Concheros: An Ode to Topper.” (Evan Younger / Hilltop Views)
Office of Admissions represents their department with smiles with their 3D replica of the Red Doors in tow. The doors are one of the first things students experience as they embark on their new journey at St. Edward’s. (Evan Younger / Hilltop Views)
Topper the goat, St. Edward’s real life hilltopper, poses effortlessly in their SEU attire and luscious curls. (Evan Younger / Hilltop Views)