The 2018 Tower court was, left to right, Jacob Liles, Regan King, Shane Miller, Leanna Mazzeffe, Garrett Niemeier, Arpana Pokhrel, Brian Wackly and Ali Stott. (Photos by Todd Weddle/Northwest Missouri State University)

April 13, 2018

Blue Key, Cardinal Key crown Miller as Tower king, King is queen

Regan King was crowned Tower Queen, and Shane Miller was crowned Tower king Friday. The long-standing tradition organized by Blue Key and Cardinal Key recognizes outstanding Northwest students.

Northwest Missouri State University’s Blue Key and Cardinal Key honor societies on Friday crowned Shane Miller as their 2018 Tower king, and Regan King was crowned queen during a ceremony at the Memorial Bell Tower.

Miller, is a junior criminology major from Omaha, Nebraska. He is a member of the Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity, Nodaway County Rugby Football Club, Student Ambassadors and the Criminal Justice Club. He also volunteers with Special Olympics and Big Brothers Big Sisters. 

King is a senior from Easton, Missouri, studying elementary education with a concentration in social sciences. She is a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority and Student Ambassadors. She volunteers with Camp Courage and Special Olympics.

The Tower King and Queen program is organized each spring by Blue Key and Cardinal Key to recognize Northwest students who excel academically while exhibiting high involvement at Northwest and in the Maryville community.

Campus organizations nominate one king and one queen, who then participate in an application process resulting in the selection of candidates to fill the Tower court. The king and queen are selected by the student body during a week of online voting.

“They are all well-rounded individuals who have achieved academic success and work hard outside of the classroom to better the community at Northwest,” said Cara Lunsford, a senior chemistry major from Overland Park, Kansas, who serves as the vice president of Blue Key and public relations chair for Cardinal Key. “It is such an honor to be selected as the top four candidates for this award.”

Information about the remainder of the Tower court appears below.

King candidates

Jacob Liles
Hometown: Maryville, Missouri
Major: Mathematics
Activities: Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity, Order of Omega, Homecoming Committee
Volunteerism: Special Olympics, Big Brothers Big Sisters

Garrett Niemeier
Hometown: Excelsior Springs, Missouri
Major: Elementary education
Activities: Student Senate, Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, Order of Omega
Volunteerism: Lettuce Dream, youth camp counseling

Brian Wackly
Hometown: Kansas City, Missouri
Major: Public relations
Activities: Kappa Kappa Psi, Bearcat Marching Band, Northwest Symphonic Band, Northwest Symphony Orchestra, Northwest Wind Symphony, Northwest Pep Band
Volunteerism: Pay it Forward Food Pantry

Queen candidates

Ali Stott
Hometown: Kansas City, Missouri
Major: Public relations
Activities: Student Activities Council, AdInk, National Society of Leadership and Success
Volunteerism: New Nodaway Humane Society, Maryville Living Center

Arpana Pokhrel
Hometown: Kathmandu, Nepal
Major: Management information systems
Activities: Student Senate, International Student Organization, Nepalese Student Organization
Volunteerism: Big Brothers Big Sisters, Student Activities Council

Leanna Mazzeffe
Hometown: Kansas City, Missouri  
Major: Marketing
Activities: Phi Mu sorority, University Police Department social media manager, Greek Week public relations chair, Knacktive social media manager
Volunteerism: Children’s Miracle Network