Mercer Island High School graduate Courtney Hampson was honored as the University of Washington 2008 Homecoming Queen on Oct. 17. Hampson, who graduated from MIHS in 2005, is a UW honors student pursuing a degree at the Jackson School of International Studies. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Hampson has taken on a number of leadership roles at UW. She is the director of the UW Leaders Program, co-founder of the ASUW Ambassadors program, an active member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and the Order of Omega Greek Leadership and Honor Society. Hampson is writing her honors thesis on the changing purpose of the Peace Corps.

Dressed in a sash and adorned with a tiara, Hampson made an appearance at Husky Stadium during the school’s homecoming game against Oregon State. She attended a banquet reception with UW President Mark Emmert as part of the celebration.

Students competing for the two $1,000 Homecoming scholarships, awarded by the University of Washington Alumni Association, are judged based on GPA, campus activities, community activities, career educational goals and honors and awards.

“I’m just amazed at how confident my kids are — the confidence to apply for something like that,” Hampson’s mother, Diane, said. “Courtney’s an unconventional kind of person, and this seems like a conventional type of thing. Leave it to Courtney to think of applying.”

Diane Hampson’s eldest daughter, Lindsay, has also received accolades for her academic achievement.

Currently in her fourth year of medical school at the University of Michigan, Lindsay Hampson is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society and recipient of the UM Clinical Excellence Award. She is attending UM on a dean’s scholarship, which funds all four years of study. She plans to pursue a residency in surgery with a specialty in urology. Lindsay Hampson graduated from MIHS in 1999 and went on to Duke University for undergraduate school.