In most parts of the world, all it takes is being popular in order to be crowned homecoming king. Here at Eastern Michigan University, however, we like to have better credentials for our homecoming kings. Blake Navarre was crowned 2012 Homecoming King back in October, and there’s more to Navarre than most people know.
1) He’s a momma’s boy: Navarre admits that he and his mother have a very strong relationship. He said, “Me and my mom are close. Our relationship is truly better when I’m away because I’m a independent person … She’s the person I’ll wake up and just call on the way to class just because her voice makes me smile … she’s the sweetest lady.”
2) He loves Halloween: He’s confident enough to admit that part of the reason he loves Halloween so much is because his birthday is the following day. Even still, Navarre has had some pretty creative Halloweens in his past. “I can’t remember what year it was or how old I was, but my mom bought me and my brother giant M&M outfits … we painted our faces to the colors of the M&Ms … And we had to bob for apples and we were just getting paint everywhere … The back of my costume ripped and I was half naked. It was just bad,” he said. Another Halloween, Navarre described a costume he wore, “I was a ‘Reno 911’ cop, the shorts were super short and [the shirt] had a deep neck … it could have been [a woman’s costume].”
3) Navarre likes to look fancy: Besides the lovely outfits he’s worn for Halloween, Navarre also likes to look nice on a day-to-day basis. “I love dressing up; I love looking classy,” he said. “I have ‘Look good, feel good Tuesdays.’” Navarre’s favorite article of clothing? “V-necks. I’m all about the deep v’s. Half my closet’s deep v’s, Eastern or TKE shirts. That’s all I wear.”
4) He didn’t want to join a fraternity: “I didn’t come to college thinking that fraternity life was great; I actually had a negative connotation to it,” Navarre said. However, he ended up becoming friends with Alex Landen and other TKE members. Navarre said, “I met Alex Landen who was my [new student orientation assistant] leader. I started hanging out with him … I hung out with them for about a week, still didn’t know what TKE was at all. I just wanted to be a part of my friends. Not something bigger than myself, just being with my friends.” However, Navarre said, “I am who I am today because of TKE.”
5) Navarre does a lot of work on EMU’s Campus: Though Navarre might not be as busy as EMU President Susan Martin, he certainly does a lot on campus. He said, “I worked on the events staff, where I worked different events … and then I got a job offering to join Admissions Welcome Center as a tour guide. And from being a tour guide I also worked as a Fast-Track group leader, which is one of the university’s enrollment programs. And then from Fast-Track I kind of expressed interest in the coordinator position for it. So being as I was one of the first people to express verbal interest, my employers at the time came to me asking if I wanted the position … But the position itself, the Fast-Track program, was moving to Campus Life … I did make the move to Campus Life, because Fast-Track is the program that I love. From Campus Life, where I’m currently employed … I became an [resident advisor] at Best Hall.”
6) He’s gotten death threats: For those of us not as experienced with the wonderful world of the fast food industry, Navarre said to be on your toes. “People yell at you through the window saying they’re gonna kill you,” he said. Navarre shared a particular story, “A guy came into [Taco Bell]; he was clearly on lots of substances. Before he ordered, he threatened that if he was poisoned he would kill me and all the employees and strip search our bodies for who had the poison.” Even with stories like this, Navarre admits, “I stuck with it for about two years.”
7) Navarre likes JAM: Tattooed on Navarre’s arm are the Mandarin symbols for JAM. While to some, JAM is a tasty toast condiment or a favorite song, Navarre explains, “Two Mandarin symbols are my mom’s initials. When they’re put together they spell JAM.” Navarre’s other tattoos include a dragon and a phoenix. “In the Chinese culture, whenever an emperor was buried, they always put a dragon on the emperor’s tomb and a phoenix on the empress’ tomb … My mom gets emperor because she does wear the pants in the relationship, so she got the dragon. My father … get phoenix because he succumbs to her will,” he said. Navarre’s other three tattoos are, “The ones on my chest are the fraternal values: love, charity and esteem … Love is in the middle because it means the most.”
8) Navarre was bad to the bone: Never being interested in school, Navarre described himself, “I was one of those daredevil kids who built his own ramps … I skateboarded a lot … I got tons of scars from in. I played football … People in high school would say I was more of a jock kid … Then my shoulder was hurt and I started focusing on school more.” After his accident, Navarre started to focus more on school and academical related activities, “That carried over into college to where I’m like totally about school. I still passively love sports.”
9) Navarre is a LOTR nerd: One thing Navarre wants to do before he dies? “This is the nerdiest thing ever … I really want to go to New Zealand. I just want to walk the environment … I want to backpack through the various ‘Lord of the Rings’ sets they have set up throughout the country.” Navarre’s love of LOTR started back in high school, “In high school they made us read the ‘Hobbit’ … The first [LOTR] movie came out and I was like ‘Oh my God that’s fantastic!’” Given the choice between “Harry Potter” and LOTR, Navarre said, “I would rather read LOTR.”
10) Navarre wants to help other students: Navarre is majoring in healthcare administration because, “I love making people smile … A simple hello will make me smile. That’s something that I try to do.” As part of this, he welcomes any student.“If anyone needs any help or anything if they need any direction, or they just want to talk, I’m always open to talk to people. I might not message back right away, but I’m always here to talk about things,” he said.
