Former Thomas Jefferson High School homecoming queen Bailey Warrior continues her reign at the University of Washington.

The Federal Way native and UW senior — double majoring in psychology and Spanish — was recently crowned as one of two homecoming royalty and received a $1,000 scholarship from the school’s Alumni Association for her achievements on campus.

Her experience as a Husky during the years she has been at UW involves an extensive list of high academic performance, campus engagement through cultural clubs and organizations, and leadership service in minority communities on campus, including as the lead student ambassador for the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity.

Warrior said her experience at UW was completely different than being crowned homecoming queen at her high school, where it felt like a popularity contest.

“Homecoming here at the UW is about who you are, where you’ve come from, and what you’ve accomplished — it’s all about what you’ve worked for and the difference you’ve made here,” she said. “It’s an opportunity to represent your community on campus and show how proud you are to be a Husky.

Sophomores, juniors or seniors may apply for the homecoming royalty scholarship each year and are required to submit an essay describing their experience at UW and how it has impacted their lives. The 86 applicants this year were all initially judged on their essay content, involvement on campus and academic achievements.

From these 86, the 13 applicants that made it through the first round moved on to an interview in front of the homecoming court selection committee, composed of representatives from various groups on campus.

Alumni Association Director of Publications Jonathan Marmor said the homecoming court is a critical part of the Husky legacy and is something the association is dedicated to. He said homecoming week is the one event during the year where all alumni are officially invited back to the campus to see what current students are accomplishing and the homecoming court represents some of the most impressive students on campus.

Warrior said she attributes much of her success to her childhood and school years back in her hometown of Federal Way.

Her family has deep roots in the greater Seattle area, and both of her parents were born and raised in Washington. She and her younger sister grew up in the Federal Way area.

“I’ll be a [Thomas Jefferson High School] Raider forever and ever,” Warrior said. “I’ve had so many amazing mentors at that school — they’ve really impacted my views on education and have really pushed me to make a difference in others’ lives. They’re the reason I ultimately came to this university and the reason I want to pursue a career in education.”

Warrior comes from a multicultural family heritage, identifying as Native American, Mexican, Filipina, German and Swedish.

“Coming from a really diverse family has really shaped me to be the person that I am today,” Warrior said. “When I first came here to the University of Washington, I really wanted to figure out how I identify — because I’ve grown up as a multicultural person, I never really knew where I fell into society.”

This desire sparked her to get involved on campus with various organizations like Education without Borders, a mentorship program for House Bill 1079 students, Filipino American Student Association, and First Nations, the Native American organization on campus, which ultimately led her to her current position as the student ambassador for the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity.

She started out giving campus tours and participating in student panels, and assisting with admissions presentations and conferences during her freshman year and became a lead student ambassador the second year, helping organize Native American student days and spearheading the Shades of Purple Conference — where high school seniors who are of ethnic underrepresented minority backgrounds can come to campus for a free three-day conference to participate in identity and culture workshops, take campus tours, hear testimonies from the ambassadors about their journey to and at the UW, and receive application and personal statement help.

Now, she oversees the student ambassador program for multicultural outreach and recruitment, a program that aims to encourage high school and middle school students from underrepresented ethnic minorities to pursue higher education.

“I absolutely love the work that I do with [the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity],” Warrior said.

Warrior said she is also passionate about being physically active. She explained she has always used sports and physical activity as an outlet for her stress throughout high school.

Warrior said she initially felt lost without the consistent schedule of being on a sports team, and she missed the teamwork and leadership of an athletic setting. She joined two fitness classes spring quarter of her freshman year and worked her way up through the fitness instructor training program, which she described as one of the most taxing things she’s accomplished in her life thus far.

Warrior is now the first undergraduate intermediate-level fitness instructor at the Intramurals Building (IMA), and teaches High Intensity Training to a class of students ranging in age from 19 to 79.

After graduation, she hopes to pursue a career in education, either teaching Spanish, ELL or bilingual learning in a high school in an impoverished area. She said she wants to ultimately work toward a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Her biggest hope is that, in the future, she could give back to the community and help others like her embrace diversity to reach their full potential.

Wu said the committee felt that Warrior was a good representative of the campus community and values.

“She really embodies what it makes to be a Husky,” Wu said.