School of Data Science Student Inspires Gender-Neutral ‘Golden Niner’ Homecoming Title

While the NFL football season wraps up, it is important to highlight last year’s promotion of diversity and inclusion at UNC Charlotte’s annual Homecoming football game. Traditionally, a king and queen are announced each year, but last November’s game featured a “Golden Niner” instead. The Golden Niner was given a golden pick-axe instead of a crown to eliminate gender biases.

Jesse Smith (class of ‘24), a data science undergraduate student, inspired a pivotal change in how students are selected to represent UNC Charlotte. As the Homecoming committee’s Niner 9 chairperson, Jesse spent several months working with her advisor Heather Miller and other members of the committee to restructure the way students represent their school on the Homecoming Court, with the goal to become more inclusive and welcoming. “I wanted the people acknowledged in front of the whole school to be representative of the entirety of the student body, and to present the best values of Niner Nation, not just be the most popular students,” Smith said. While researching the trends of other universities, Jesse noticed several were straying away from the queen and king titles to focus more on ‘monarchs’ or names resembling the schools’ mascots.

“Homecoming court has many harmful stereotypes associated with it that discouraged members of the student bodies from applying, starting with its gender-binary nature and historical context,” Smith said. Upon realizing this, she began working with the campus Office of Identity, Equity, and Engagement to brainstorm ways to retitle the two positions to be gender-inclusive, thus encouraging those who may not affiliate with the binary to apply. While brainstorming, the group determined there was no reason to keep the focus on royalty; this was instead an opportunity to hone in on the uniqueness of Charlotte. Along with the creation of the Golden Niner title, the Homecoming Court was renamed the Niner 9.

Moving forward, each Golden Niner will represent UNC Charlotte throughout the year rather than solely during Homecoming season. These students will have the opportunity to market Charlotte to potential students and show the community what the best of Niner Nation has to offer.

Jesse looks forward to watching the development of the Golden Niner during the next few years as an undergraduate student, while continuing to focus on her data science courses. A native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Smith was drawn to UNC Charlotte’s program and its connections to many local thriving businesses in the industry. Smith is particularly drawn to the way data science allows her to apply a mix of creative and analytical thinking while increasing her employability. She is excited to absorb data science knowledge through hands-on applications while working alongside a diverse set of faculty and students. Many of her classmates come from other backgrounds, such as finance or computer science, so she is consistently exposed to a variety of approaches and thought processes.

After graduating from UNC Charlotte, Jesse aspires to pursue a career in management consulting so she can experience a diverse array of projects and industries. Tourism and agriculture particularly interest her, along with one day earning her MBA. In her spare time, she enjoys creative writing, rock climbing, embroidery, film and the performing arts.