UW’s homecoming royalty will be presented during halftime at the UW football game against Oregon State this Saturday at Husky Stadium. Two finalists will receive $1,000 scholarships and will be recognized at the game. This year’s royalty will attend Saturday’s pep rally and will be present for the President’s Brunch before they watch the game from the president’s box.

The students beat out 29 other applicants to become royalty. After filling out an application, a select few were interviewed by a committee.

Representatives from the UW Alumni Association, ASUW and the residence halls volunteered to make up the seven-person panel, said Mike Snowden, ASUW director of programming.

“The interviewing was my favorite part,” Snowden said. “It was a really good way to get to know the applicants and you got a real hint of what the students were getting at.”

The panel looked for a wide range of people who were well rounded and willing to put themselves out into the community — not just GPA.

“People think it’s like applying for the business school,” he said. “You don’t need a 4.0 to be chosen.”

Homecoming royalty Skylee Robinson applied on a whim.

“I didn’t realize grad students could apply,” said Robinson, who has a bachelor’s degree in business administration. “I found out about the scholarship from an alumni e-mail.”

A speech tutor for the department of communication, she will receive her law degree in June.

“I worked as a paralegal in the army doing criminal work,” Robinson said. “I’m fascinated with the law and how it infiltrates the world.”

After graduation, she plans to become a volunteer attorney who will help low-income individuals resolve legal problems.

National Merit Scholarship winner Madeleine McKenna was another applicant. A senior in international studies and economics, she hopes to spend at least a year in a Spanish-speaking country to work on economic development.

Senior Steve Margitan, also an international studies and economics major, believed applying was a way to show school pride.

“I thought it’d be a lot of fun to get involved,” he said. “I had some friends who did it two years ago and they were role models for me.”

Margitan has studied abroad in Rome and China and was the co-founder for China Earthquake Aid, a group that was able to raise $60,000 toward the earthquake-relief effort in Chengdu.

After earning a doctorate in development studies, Margitan aspires to create policies designed to limit negative externalities and improve local welfare in developing countries.

UW cheerleader and co-captain Michelle Low is an accounting and communication major. Aside from interning for the FOX Sports Network, Low plans to study in Spain and own her own business.

Transfer student Xayachuck “Toan” Viradet is a finance and economics major. A senior and Husky Sports Marketing intern, Viradet plans to work with local organizations to develop effective and sufficient financial and economic policies.

Honors student Courtney Hampson is majoring in international studies and is the co-founder and co-director of the ASUW Ambassadors, an outreach program for freshmen. She intends to complete a two-year tour with the Peace Corps before working in an international organization.

Reach reporter Nicole Ciridon at news@dailyuw.com