By Krista Pulley
Xavier Billingsley, senior, took the crown for Mizzou 2012 homecoming king. A king’s lifestyle is always busy and Xavier, who also goes by XJ, is no exception. One busy part of his college life is being MSA President. He is definitely a big man on campus (must be why he has his own office). Her Campus sat down to talk to Xavier about winning Homecoming and his college life experience.
How did it feel to win homecoming?
It was huge honor; I was very excited to be named as homecoming king by the student body. I was very blessed and honored.
What are your duties as homecoming king?
Being homecoming king hasn’t been too busy at all. I’ll be doing a lot of appearances. You have to make sure you implement the platform and represent Mizzou with tastefulness. In general, I haven’t been informed of what other duties yet that I’ll have in the future.
What all are you involved in on Mizzou’s campus?
I’m homecoming king and MSA president. I also work as a TA (for an intro sports management class), tutor for athletes, and am in a Greek chapter. I have done more things in the past, but I try to keep it to a limit now.
How is being MSA president?
There are a lot of appearances. There’s a full-time staff and a student staff and I am the liaison between them so it takes a lot of work. I used to want to be a lawyer, but being MSA president also taught me I want to go into international relations.
How has your senior year been different than most?
Senior year has been the best time of my life. It is definitely different than the typical college student. I’m really busy. Sometimes I have to stay in when I want to go out because I finally have time to catch up on my homework, plus I’m also studying for standardized tests. But I wouldn’t trade anything.
How does it feel to be African American king/president on a predominantly white campus?
It feels really great. There have only been a few black male kings or presidents at Mizzou. I want to be a hope for future minorities; blacks, hispanics, gays, women, etc. I want people to think they can do anything they want. Mykel Wright, the first black MSA president, and was also homecoming king and I have met him because of everything I’m involved in. I feel like he helped pave the way for me, so I hope to do the same.
Photo Credits
http://www.themaneater.com/stories/2012/8/31/msa-president-billingsley-discusses-new-msa-progra/
http://www.themaneater.com/stories/2012/4/20/panel-discusses-progress-one-mizzou-2020-vision-ex/