Julianna Keiter 

Contributing Writer 

The annual homecoming bonfire, bringing alumni, current students, and faculty together for this campus tradition, took place on Friday, Oct. 18. Located on the Commuter Parking Lot, C23, an assortment of food trucks, inflatable games, and activities were available to boost excitement for ESU’s homecoming weekend festivities and sporting events. 

The homecoming bonfire had performances from the ESU band, cheerleaders, dance team, and Warriorettes. To showcase many of ESU’s sports teams was the Director of Student Engagement, Fernando Alcántar. 

Pictured are Saleen Sabo, Jordyn Clevenger, Meg Thomas, Molly McDonald and Rylie Dangerfield.   

Molly McDonald, a freshman majoring in athletic training, spoke on her experience at the bonfire saying, “The event was fun and better than we expected with lots of activities and things. Our favorite thing to see was the cheer team because our friend, Rylie is on it, so it was nice to see her. I would recommend people to go next year because it was a nice event to attend and got us excited about homecoming!” 

Kate Lenway, a junior majoring in environmental science, commented on the difference between this year’s event and the previous year stating that, “there were fewer activities this year.” She continued stating that the fire did seem a lot stronger this year and that she would recommend this event to people who are interested. 

The crowned winner of this year’s homecoming royalty was Reina Ortiz, a sophomore majoring in early childhood education. She proudly represented the contemporary dance team as, in her ESU Homecoming Royalty video, she said, “I also want to support my team for doing this for them. I always loved dancing but never had training. The dance team took a chance on me by bringing me on the team, and now, I want to pay it back to them.” 

The event lasted from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. with this annual event kicking off the campus festivities for ESU’s homecoming weekend.