Ellwein reigns as homecoming queen

A roar of cheers and applause erupted from a group bedecked with signs and face paint as Carli Ellwein's name was called for Homecoming Queen.

The senior English and secondary education major was crowned during coronation in the Elmen Center on Monday.

The crowning came somewhat as a shock to the monarch.

"I really did not expect to win," Ellwein said. "I think I even rolled my eyes. I was just so shocked."

Before the crowning, Ellwein was busy trying to get everyone to join in making a tunnel for the new king and queen.

"I expected to be the one leading the tunnel, but then they made one for me," Ellwein said. "It was really surreal."

Ellwein's natural concern for others has encompassed both her social and her academic life.

"Carli is the most loving person I know," senior Brittney Block, one of Carli's best friends, said. "She is vivacious and full of life. There is rarely a time when I see her down in the dumps. She always lights up my day and I'm positive she does the same for most everyone on campus.

"One of Carli's greatest strengths is her desire to be kind," journalism professor Janet Blank-Libra, who has taught Ellwein in class and worked with her on the EDDA, said. "I have time and again watched her turn to help a fellow student in need. It's not that they're asking for help, it's that she notices."

But despite sporting her new crown, Ellwein retains her humility.

"I certainly don't walk with any more poise or balance," Ellwein said. "I'm still tripping all over campus."

Ellwein is also pursuing minors in  journalism and theater and is a member of the theater company, an editor of the EDDA yearbook, a team leader at the Elmen Center and an NSO leader.

"Carli is a creative individual," Blank-Libra said. "She is a leader. She likes to make things work so that they are both functional and beautiful."

Ellwein plans to become a teacher after graduation, but that path was not always clear.

Ellwein hopes to put her diverse interests into a career in teaching.

"I want to teach at a small school where I can direct plays, work on the paper and maybe coach basketball too," Ellwein said.

Ellwein feels that her experience at Augustana will help her after graduation.

"I feel like Augie prepares you so much for making it in life and how to be a helpful, functioning person," Ellwein said. "All of the people and professors are so kind. I walk down the sidewalk and everyone says hello. How can that not rub off on you?"

"Carli is Augustana," Block said. "She loves everything about this place. It is her home away from home, why wouldn't she be queen of her home?"

Ellwein plans on keeping her memories of Augustana with her as she prepares to leave.

"There's something in the air here that I think I'll miss for the rest of my life," she said.