Howard University’s 2025 “One of One” Homecoming season kicked off with one of its signature events, the Royal Court Coronation, Oct. 19. The event featured the crowning of Mister and Miss Howard University and a formal induction of the larger 2025-2026 Royal Court assembly. For Mister and Miss Howard, coronation signifies their official installment as the campus’ king and queen. This year, the coronation theme “The Crown Jewel: One of One” is in honor of the university’s 101st Homecoming season and its “One of One” status.  

An air of regality, pride, and love filled Cramton Auditorium on Coronation night. Family, peers, fellow HBCU kings and queens, and a wide array of supporters filled the space in celebration of the university’s newest royal family on Sunday evening. While each member of the “Crown Jewel” class was introduced with their individual biography walk entrances, audience members enveloped the space with cheers, boisterous applause, and joyful yells in support of their participating loved ones.   

In addition to the official crowing of seniors Hamid Jalloh and Eden Boles as the university’s 49th Mister Howard and 87th Miss Howard, respectively, the night included an enchanting dance routine performed by the entire Royal Court to Stevie Wonder’s “My Cherie Amour.” Other performances included a rendition of Donny Hathaway’s “A Song for You,” performed by junior Alphonso Evans Jr., and a stirring dance performance to Alex Isley’s cover of Frankie Beverly and Maze’s “We are One” by junior Roman Neal. 

The Road to Coronation 

Making it to Coronation Day is simply one aspect of the Royal Court experience. The court’s process begins more than six months before the coronation event with the election of its members, which includes Mister and Miss Howard, Mister and Miss Freshman, and two representatives from each of the university’s schools and colleges. Howard students who were once members of the Royal Court have gone on to advance the university’s pageantry legacy, such as the 82nd Miss Howard Taylor Davis (B.A. ’22) who is currently competing in the Miss USA 2025 pageant competition.  

What does it take to become a member of Howard’s Royal Court? The process isn’t as simple as it might appear on the surface, said Jalloh and Boles. Before making the decision to run for their positions, the pair were inspired by the kings and queens that came before them.  

Jalloh, a health sciences major from Rochester, New York, who is a member of the Beta Chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, said he was inspired to run for the campus king title after working alongside former Mister Howard Mahlon West (B.S. ’23). Jalloh shared how much he learned from West during his time as Mister College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences during the 2023-2024 Royal Court season.  

“I got to work hand in hand with [West] and seeing that his story was different from everyone else’s and what made him stick out  from everyone else inspired me to run,” said Jalloh. “His impact and how he was able to inspire a whole different side of Howard and still be able to connect with the entire student body was motivating. I saw that I could put my own story and my own spin to what Mister Howard would be. My background is different than a lot of other students coming from two immigrant parents from Sierra Leone, being a Muslim student, and a first-generation HBCU student.” 

Boles, a biology major from Little Rock, Arkansas, and a member of the Alpha Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, was part of last year’s Royal Court assembly as Miss College of Arts and Sciences. She was inspired by former Miss Howard Cecily Dionne Davis (B.A. ’24) to pursue the title of campus queen. Davis excitedly cheered Boles on in the audience during Sunday’s Coronation event.  

“[Davis] was always herself no matter what compacity; I really admired that,” said Boles. “She was one of the first student leaders that I met during my freshman year. Even from that initial conversation, she helped me find my steps of what organizations I should join. Davis really poured into me as an outgoing senior.” 

Ahead of the 2025 Royal Court Coronation, Boles and Jalloh sat down with The Dig to break down the process of joining the university’s Royal Court and what it takes to be a campus king and queen.  

The Dig: How does a student apply to be part of Howard’s Royal Court? What is needed for each applicant? 

Boles: Prospective members should make the decision before the Court’s initial interest meeting, which takes place when students return to campus at the start of each spring semester. Attending the interest meeting is how you get access to the [Royal Court] application. The application itself has increased in standard each and every year. For us, the written application had to be turned in, in person, to campus life staff.  

You need two letters of recommendation to attest to your character, your resume, a personal statement or your intent for running, and a slight platform outline that explains the overall message of your platform and the programs you want to implement in your role. You also have to submit your talent video of what you think you’re going to do for the pageant. I’m trained in martial arts, so I did a performative martial arts routine as my talent.  

We also had to get 3% of the student body to sign off on our candidacy in order to be eligible to compete. Applicants also have to attend mandatory Elections Commission meetings and trainings to know how to fairly get elected. Students must get everything approved by the Elections Commission prior to being able to implement campaigning events on The Yard. After completing the Royal Court application, applicants then participate in a preliminary interview with former Mister and Miss Howards, who are five years removed from the university, and two current students who haven’t interreacted with the contestants. The committee whittles down the candidate pool to the top five candidates who then move on to the Royal Court pageant ceremony.  

Jalloh: I think what people don’t realize is that the pageant isn’t what wins you the entire competition; it only plays one part into it. About 51% is the overall student vote; 11% comes from the pageant, and the remaining percentage comes from the second interview with school administration. 

You have to create a portfolio of your entire Howard journey that also includes an outline of what you would do as Mister or Miss Howard, student testaments, letters of recommendation, and your resume and personal statement which gets put into a binder and presented to the interview committee. That also goes into your points, how you present your portfolio.  

The Dig: What were your campaign platforms and how did you encourage students to vote for you?  

Boles: My platform was titled “Reshaping the C.R.O.W.N.” (a Culmination of Resources, Opportunities, Wisdom, and Novelty). I wanted to hone in on redefining and reshaping what it means to be a Howard student. In our generation, it’s easy to get caught up in comparison. I want us to find success in matriculating through Howard because that’s what brought me here and the representation that Howard has always emulated.  

I doubted myself at first, thinking I wasn’t going to run for Miss Howard because I thought that it was too big. It came down to my own personal reflection and me really embracing the lessons that I’ve learned growing up in Arkansas.  

My campaign events were fun. I gave out Southern food to reference my upbringing. I also did a collaborative event where we gave out free haircuts and shouted out student businesses to increase their visibility. I also went to a lot of different dorms as well. Meeting people where they’re at is important when campaigning [in order to] hit a lot of demographics that don’t really know you. 

Jalloh: My campaign was entitled “The Meccathon,” where every stride is a legacy in the making. I geared it toward Howard being like a marathon or race. The biggest thing I would talk about in my platform speech was that we all start at the same time, and it doesn’t matter when you finish, so long as you finish. Leaving a better individual than when you came to the university is the most important thing.  

My campaign events were themed around a race of some sort. I had an event where I placed plastic hurdles in the middle of The Yard. Students would write down their biggest fears or obstacles, put them on the hurdles and jump over them, symbolizing how you’re able to overcome your obstacles, and I gave them a gold medal.  

Campaigning is most effective when you go to students rather than having students come to you, and it comes with a lot of planning and making sure that everything makes sense. It all comes down to what story and message you want to convey, how genuine you are, and how can you [further] assimilate yourself into the student body.  

The Dig: What are some of the responsibilities of being a campus king and queen? 

Boles: As one of the student representatives of the university, we’re equipped with Howard knowledge. We’re also student ambassadors as well, and we’re very visible in the public eye. We have jurisdiction to do events and programs on campus that relate directly to our platforms. We regularly meet with university administrators and express student concerns while having transparent conversations on how to better the university. 

We’ve been able to add a recruitment element to our king and queen roles. Before recent events such as the Orange Blossom Classic and the New York Classic football games, we were able to go to neighboring high schools in those cities and talk to students about Howard, representing the university in that aspect. We talked to students about expectations on admissions guidelines and what to be able to expect.  

Jalloh: There’s a lot that goes into the roles. There’s no direct outline of what we have to do as King and Queen. Eden and I wanted to make these roles into something that was even more than it was before, while continuing to build on the legacy of the foundation that was built for us. We go to anything and everything — I don’t remember the last time the Royal Court went to this many events and shown face at a lot of things.  

People may say that all we do is smile and wave, and that may be true, but we’re also there to support students who may not have support at a particular event. Recently, we went to a DMV club event. We’re not even from the DMV area, but we wanted to support our fellow students. My responsibility is to impact students. It may not be the most extravagant program, but I want to be able to make sure that students feel like they can talk to me and have a conversation as if I’m just another student, because I am a normal student. I just now have a title in front of my name.  

The Dig: After completing your time as Howard’s King and Queen, what are your post-graduation plans? 

Boles: I want to build my foundation of being a physician and being able to impact my community with preventative health measures. I want to be a physician because growing up in Arkansas, we have a very evident health care disparity when it comes to things like access. There is only one Level 1 trauma center in the whole entire state. If someone lives on the outskirts of the state away from the capital city and has any major accidents, they’ll have to travel long distances to get to the only trauma 1 hospital. Seeing that growing up pushed me toward health care and being a doctor.  

I’m also interested in dermatology because that relates to me growing up as a kid with eczema and having really bad acne as a teenager. I had to get on the most extreme form of acne treatment, which is Accutane. I want to intersect different aspects of cultural competency with minority patients and dermatological issues. When I’m looking at research journals, what’s mostly depicted are people who don’t have a prevalent amount of melanin. Eczema looked different on me compared to my white counterparts. Accutane’s side effects looked different on me compared to my white counterparts as well. That increased my interest in it. That curiosity and those questions led me to the health care industry.  

Jalloh: After Howard, I want to go into the health management realm such as hospital leadership. I have a future overarching goal of creating a network of hospitals in Sierra Leone, where my parents are from. I’m currently looking into master’s programs, different job opportunities, and seeing what direction I want to go toward. I also want to still be involved at Howard. Knowing how much the university has poured into me, I want to come back for things like Homecoming and joining different alumni organizations.  

The Dig: What advice would you give to students who are interested in running for Howard’s Royal Court? 

Boles: Be receptive of stepping into the role with a servant’s heart. You’re going to be stepping into a role that’s larger than you, and you have to serve in a capacity that’s outside of yourself, your own wants and needs, and your own feelings. Also, lean on your counterpart; I don’t think I could uphold the role by myself. If I didn’t have Hamid to help me lead the court and show up and show out, then I would be overextending myself.  

Jalloh: Make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. This is a position that looks easy but isn’t easy. It requires a lot of willpower and a lot of passion behind what you’re doing. Have a reason why you’re doing it, try to make a difference, have impact, and make the position yours. There’s a reason why we have 48 Mister Howards before me, and they’re all different. That’s what makes the legacy so special.  

Understand that it’s not just about Mister and Miss Howard. Take the time to understand who you’ll be working with. It’s not just an individual position. It’s going to be 18 of you working together. You have an entire court that follows behind you. Lead by example, understand how other members feel, and build that team aspect with your Royal Court.  

The 2025-2026 Howard University Royal Court includes:  

Hamid Jalloh - Mister Howard (senior from Rochester, New York, health sciences major) 
Eden Boles - Miss Howard (senior from Little Rock, Arkansas, biology major)  

Rosh Morrow - Mister Freshman (freshman from Chicago, Illinois, biology major) 
Ryann May - Miss Freshman (freshman from Atlanta, Georgia, political science major) 

Cameron Wright - Mister Cathy Hughes School of Communication (junior from Atlanta, legal communications major) 
Layla Pottinger - Miss Cathy Hughes School of Communication (junior from Toronto, Canada, speech language and pathology major) 

DeShawn Napier - Mister School of Business (junior from Hagerstown, Maryland, finance major) 
Tyla’ Woods - Miss School of Business (senior from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, marketing major) 

Gabriel Zwilling - Mister College of Engineering and Architecture (junior, from Haverford, Pennsylvania, architecture major) 
Charity Edney - Miss College of Engineering and Architecture (junior from St. Louis, Missouri, architecture major)  

Miles Francisque - Mister College of Arts and Sciences (junior, from Long Island, New York, human performance major) 
Iyanna Cort - Miss College of Arts and Sciences (junior, from Miami, Floriday, English major) 

Quinn Taylore - Mister Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts (senior, from Atlanta, acting major) 
Nia Anderson - Miss Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts (senior from Las Vegas, Nevada, fashion design major) 

Ricando Davis - Mister College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences (junior from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, health sciences major) 
Fareeda Adeoye - Miss College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences (junior, from Prince George’s County, Maryland, by way of Nigeria, nursing major) 

Kentin London - Mister School of Education (sophomore, from Chicago, elementary education major)
Judith Bennett - Miss School of Education (senior, from Mount Vernon, New York, by way of Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica, elementary education major)  

Photos by Simone Boyd, Howard University Office of University Communications, unless noted otherwise.