Emily Turner, who was recently voted Mississippi State University’s 2018 Homecoming Queen, credited a large portion of her winning the crown to biggest supporters: her friends.
“I have a friend who is a graphic designer that made the graphics, a friend that made the video, another friend took the professional photos because she has a photography business and my sister helped me with social media posts and captions,” Turner said. “I could not be more grateful for their help. I believe all that support helped me stand out as a candidate.”
Turner is involved in a large repertoire of clubs and organizations, so she had the support of a diverse group of people all over MSU. She is a member of the Kappa Delta sorority, Maroon VIP and Foundation Ambassadors. Previously, she was also an orientation leader. She held a few leadership positions in KD, as well. During her sophomore year, Turner was a KD new member educator and was a leadership chair, through which she helped members get more involved on and off campus.
She said she met some of her lifelong friends in these clubs and organizations.
“Being an orientation leader has been one of my favorite memories,” Turner said. “I loved staying over the summer in the dorms. There was a sense of community, and that helped me meet a lot of amazing people that I’m still friends with today.”
In addition to her extracurriculars, Turner also works 20 hours a week at an oral surgeon clinic and has volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club.
Grady Miller, a senior civil engineering major, has known Turner throughout college, but he said he got to know her well through Orientation Leaders.
“Emily is such a kind person, and she is someone I always want to be around,” Miller said. “Not only is Emily incredibly smart, but she will beat you in basketball as well–I know this from experience. Emily portrays the values and character of the perfect MSU student, and has given so much to MSU. I rarely meet anyone that doesn’t know Emily Turner. She loves MSU more than anyone I know, and she is the perfect person to represent our great university.”
Turner said she is grateful for everything she has in life, from becoming homecoming queen to her parents shaping her into a Bulldog early on.
“I’m grateful that my parents would bring us to MSU for those game day weekends so early on in my life,” Turner said. “I would bring my friends, and we would all just have a good time.”
Decked out in the MSU cheerleader uniform, Turner and her family made a tradition out of attending games.
“My parents went to MSU, so we would come down game day weekends, and I would wear the cheerleader uniform,” she said. “We made a tradition out of it with car ride games to try and keep us awake on the drive back.”
Even though Turner is a senior accounting major, she also studies pre-medicine with the goal of becoming a doctor. The process of turning in her applications for medical school this fall was taxing, she said. Normally, Turner said she would go outside and take a walk during these stressful times, but her friends insisted she run for homecoming queen instead.
“My friends really wanted me to do it, but I said, ‘No.’ Eventually I agreed, and KD nominated me,” said Turner. “The process was fun overall, but stressful because of all the planning we had to do. My favorite part was campaigning on the Drill Field, and talking to people on campus and getting their stories.”
When Turner was announced as Homecoming Queen, she said she dropped to the ground and started crying tears of joy. She was surrounded by her friends and said it was one of the happiest moments of her life. Turner said she never sent a text to one person asking for a vote on the day of the election, her friends did all of that for her.
“I’m very thankful for everything they did during this process. Again, it is all very surreal,” Turner said.
One of Turner’s longtime friends and supporters, senior psychology major Katie Carter, said Turner has positively impacted her life as a best friend and role model, and could not think of anyone more deserving of the crown.
“I met Emily Turner the summer before freshmen year and honestly thought she was way too cool to ever want to be my friend. Four years later, she has become one of the most important people in my life and my best friend,” Carter said. “Without Emily, I would lack in confidence, in kindness, in friendships, in laughter, in joy and most importantly, in my relationship with Jesus.
“Emily loves people in a way that is contagious and telling of who she lives for. I have never met someone who encourages others as much as she does,” Carter said. “She is always hard-working, always optimistic and always the friend you want to be around on good and bad days alike. I think there could truly be no better representation of this blessed university than Emily Turner.”
With an infectious smile and a humble attitude, Turner impacts lives and makes a positive impression on everyone she meets. People close to her say it is no wonder she is MSU’s 2018 Homecoming Queen.
“It still doesn’t feel real to me,” Turner said. “I don’t really think it will until the actual day when I’m in the dress on the football field. It’s all been very surreal.”