Regatta announces contest winners, Regatta Royalty recipients

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It’s not the typical school year, which means it’s not the typical Regatta in 2020. Despite there being no canoes in the canal, the campus mainstay has reinvented itself amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and recently announced several contest winners along with its Regatta Royalty recipients.

Regatta serves as the official homecoming of IUPUI and hosts a royalty contest as part of the annual events, where winners receive a scholarship. The recipients are chosen based on representativeness of the core values of IUPUI--community engagement and good character and standing within the university. In addition, applicant strength and votes by the general IUPUI student body are taken into account. This year, Unnati Nayak, a sophomore majoring in management, marketing and international business, and Luke Kieper, a junior majoring in accounting and finance, were crowned.

Nayak is heavily involved on campus and feels that her leadership skills help her live out IUPUI’s values.

“I am in a leadership role in six different student organizations on campus,” she said. “IUPUI and the students here have helped me a lot as I transitioned from my hometown Dubai to Indy as an international student. It seemed fair to me to utilize my skills to benefit the campus and its students.”

Kieper also sees his leadership as a key factor in his ability to uphold IUPUI’s values.

“Winning IUPUI Regatta Royalty means a lot to me,” he said. “To be selected by my peers is an incredible honor, and I try my best to uphold IUPUI values through leadership. It is important to remember to lead by example. Telling someone to do something that you don’t do is not leadership. But, if you can teach someone through your actions, that is leadership.”

After attending Regatta during her freshman year and participating in the canoe race, Nayak watched a friend win the Royalty contest and felt motivated to apply this year.

“My friends encouraged me to apply this year and were very supportive during the voting process,” she said. “I didn't expect to win since I was the only sophomore on the Regatta court, but the support of my friends made it possible.”

In addition to Regatta Royalty, several other contests were held. Below is a list of the contests with a description and winner for each.

Pet Costume Contest

This year's Pet Costume Contest consisted of submissions via social media of pets in costumes. The public then voted on the best outfit through social media. Nayak earned the win thanks to a little help from her three-year-old Yorkie, Mars, who dressed up in a red Adidas tracksuit.

Copper Regatta

Regatta teamed up with the Engineering Technology Student Council for Copper Regatta, an event that asked students to guess the number of pennies that could be put into a boat built by ETSC before it sank. Blaire Viehweg and Rachel Ploss were named the winners for being closest to the final mark of 5,500 pennies needed to sink the cardboard boat.

Voting Trivia Night

In a collaboration with Women for Change, Regatta hosted Voting Trivia Night virtually using Kahoot! The game covered common misconceptions about voting as a lead up to the 2020 election. First place went to Sopgia Koesterer, while second belonged to Aiysha Amjad and third went to Natalie Holmes.

Students who wish to be involved with Regatta can apply online to join the Steering Committee. Applications are open through Dec. 1. To keep up with Regatta and its events throughout the year, follow them on Twitter and Instagram @IUPUIRegatta.