This year’s Homecoming king and queen began their reign this week and are celebrating the victory.

Jarquetta Egeston, the matriarch and senior business administration major, and Kiarri Andrews, a self-described “sophomore-and-a-half” journalism major, were formally chosen as queen and king at Sunday’s coronation at the Holmes Student Center.

Now they have a full week of Homecoming events ahead of them, including Yell Like Hell, the Homecoming Parade Friday and the football game Saturday.

“We really just sit and admire,” said Andrews, who made Homecoming court before being elected. His queen, however, did not.

Egeston ran as a write-in candidate, and she, along with Andrews, wants to extend her throne beyond this weekend.

“Jarquetta and I want to extend it to the end of the year with community service projects,” Andrews said.

Both Andrews and Egeston had the backing of the Black Student Union, as well as the NAACP and each of their Greek organizations.

“At first, I was surprised to be going under my fraternity,” Andrews said.

Both winners’ families were excited by the royal news. Both Andrews’ grandmother and cousin were thrilled to hear his good news.

“My mom went crazy,” Egeston said. She said her parents have on their refrigerator a copy of the poster she put up around campus. They also told her whole neighborhood in Chicago.

Despite Egeston’s write-in status, Andrews campaigned to get the votes.

“We kind of helped each other,” Andrews said.

Egeston helped him tap into “markets” that he otherwise wouldn’t have been able to, he said.

“Jarquetta is adorable – she’s very cute,” Andrews said. “She got the guys who wanted to get with her, and she told them to check my name off as well.”

The surprise of the win has yet to wear off for both.

“I still have to tell myself I’m Homecoming King,” Andrews said.

During Sunday’s announcement, Andrews’ friends rushed the stage.

“The BSU [and] my fraternity brothers acted a fool,” Andrews said. “Jarquetta and I had a deep line of support.”

For Egeston, the rewards of royalty outweigh the work of furious campaigning.

“It was a little stressful to deal with – especially because I had to test that week,” Jarquetta said. “Right now, it’s kind of like celebrity status.”