Drury University is home to a vast student body that is made up of students that are all intriguing, ambitious, individualistic and are a delight to know. To showcase these varying personalities, the Mirror has created Panther Profiles, an outlet that gives an opportunity to those within the campus to share their memories and experiences at Drury University.

On Saturday, February 20, 2021, Drury University crowned its Homecoming Royals, Tim Anzalone and Myranda Levins. These two dazzling individuals are whom the first of the Panther Profiles will center upon. Both Anzalone and Levins were surprised, but felt honored to be this year’s Homecoming royalty, and also felt as if all those within the top ten were deserving of the title as well.

The Homecoming King, Tim Anzalone, is a 5th-year architecture major, a member of Student Union Board, the American Institute of Architecture Students, Tau Sigma Delta and (his personal favorite) a member and captain of the Ultimate Frisbee Team.

Homecoming King, Tim Anzalone

In an interview, Anzalone recalls how he knew Drury University was meant to be, “My path to Drury was kind of serendipitous. I knew I always wanted to do architecture. It was kind of a calling from early on in my childhood. To my knowledge, the only architecture schools around where I lived were Washington University in St. Louis (which is really expensive) and somewhere in Kansas. So for a while, I thought I was going to be a Jayhawk, but then one of the counselors at my high school told me to check out Drury and their architecture program, which I had no idea about. As it turns out, my Aunt Terri worked here in the admissions office, and I even went to a wedding at Stone Chapel when I was like 15. I for sure thought Drury Hotels owned Stone Chapel until I started giving tours here, and once I made that connection, I felt really dumb. Anyways, I took the tour here, met up with a side of my family I never really had gotten to connect with before, and I just kind of fell in love with the campus. Bob Weddle, the dean of our architecture school also did a great job selling me on the major and the campus. Everything felt right, so I decided this was the place to be. I don’t regret it.”

Those who know Anzalone know he has been an extremely positive light on Drury’s campus, and know that he will continue as a role model for others even after graduation.

Homecoming Queen, Myranda Levins

Drury University’s new Homecoming Queen, Myranda Levins, is a Theatre and Strategic Communications major, a member of Kappa Delta Sorority, Alpha Lambda Delta and Gamma Sigma Alpha. She also is Vice President for two organizations: Alpha Psi Omega and Student Advocates for the Arts.

When answering the question, what will you miss about Drury, Levins gave a heartfelt answer, “I’m going to miss the community. Another thing about Drury that I loved when applying for school was how small it was. I knew I didn’t want to go to a big university with hundreds of people in a lecture hall. I love being able to walk around campus and a good majority of people I see I know them in some way or another. I love that I can visit my best friend’s apartment and they’re not miles away. It’s just so great the people we have at Drury. We all chose to be here, so we are all similar in that sense, but so many people I have met I’ve just vibed with because we’re all a little bit similar. We all decided to come to the small liberal arts school. And even though we all have that similarity, we’re all very different. I’ve met so many different people with different interests and backgrounds and it has made me into a different, better person. One thing that is dear to my heart and that I will miss greatly is the Drury University Theatre Department. They are all the funniest, most caring, and most creative people I have met. Most times in your major, you probably know the other students and you’ll maybe hang out outside of class, but these people are like an extension of my family. We spend so much time together that we develop such amazing deep connections. And it’s not just the students, the faculty as well. They all care about us so much. It’s my favorite place to be on campus, with my theatre people.”

Levins has impacted many on and around campus with her radiant personality, and Drury University will surely miss her.

Anzalone and Levins are both charming and generous students that Drury cares for, and is extremely proud to call them Homecoming King and Queen of the 2021 academic year.

Article by Gabriella Wuller