Rosendale, Missouri, resident represents her alma mater at second-oldest Kentucky festival.
PINEVILLE, KY. (05/25/2025) Sophia Hunziger put quite a bow on her Lindsey Wilson College career — a pink-and-green one to be exact.
Hunziger graduated from Lindsey Wilson with a double major in psychology and human services and counseling on May 3, then headed north with her Blue Raider teammates to compete in the USA Archery Collegiate Target Nationals, which were held May 16-17 in Lansing, Michigan.
After returning to campus to pack the contents of her residence hall room and move into an apartment in Lancaster, Ohio, Hunziger drove to the Cumberland Mountains, where she spent May 22-25 in Pineville, Kentucky, representing her alma mater in the 94th Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival. She was also the final Lindsey Wilson College representative sent to the Southeast Kentucky festival, as Lindsey Wilson will become Lindsey Wilson University on July 1.
The second oldest Kentucky festival next to the 151-year-old Kentucky Derby, the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival was started to honor 18th-century pioneer explorer Dr. Thomas Walker, an Englishman who led one of the first European expeditions through the Cumberland Gap. During the festival, the streets, stores and homes of Pineville, a town of about 2,000, are adorned in pink and green.
The festival’s highlight is the queen’s coronation, held Saturday afternoon at Laurel Cove Amphitheater in Pine Mountain State Resort Park, Kentucky’s oldest state park. The queen, who is selected from among representatives from Kentucky’s colleges and universities, is crowned with a garland made from the region’s native mountain laurel, which blossoms each May.
Hunziger grew up in Rosendale in rural northwest Missouri, but she had been interested in the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival since her freshman year in college.
“It was amazing,” said Hunziger, who transferred to Lindsey Wilson in spring 2023. “It’s nothing I ever expected. I’ve been thinking about coming to the Kentucky Mount Laurel Festival for the last four years, so the fact that I got to do it as my final thing as a Blue Raider was just amazing.”
Hunziger said she was especially impressed with how the residents of Pineville welcomed the 15 representatives from Kentucky colleges and universities.
“The community was amazing, and it was awesome to see everyone’s reactions to the 15 amazing girls that were representing their colleges,” she said.
The Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival was also an eye-opening experience for Hunziger’s escort, Tyler Tolle ’25 of Grand Junction, Colorado.
“It was a great time meeting the people and learning about the area,” said Tolle, who graduated in May from Lindsey Wilson with a bachelor of arts degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting. “You really see the importance of family and community.”
Hunziger and Tolle are not taking off any time after their whirlwind tour of Southeast Kentucky.
Tolle will start a job on May 27 as an accountant and will focus on becoming a certified public accountant; Hunziger will begin work as a registered behavioral technician while preparing to start her master’s degree in applied behavior analysis.
“The Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival was definitely one for the record books,” said Hunziger.
Lindsey Wilson College representative Sophia Hunziger ’25 of Rosendale, Missouri, and her escort, Tyler Tolle ’25 of Grand Junction, Colorado, prepare to ride in the parade of the 94th Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival on Saturday, May 24, in Pineville, Kentucky. The Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival is Kentucky’s second-oldest festival.
Lindsey Wilson College representative Sophia Hunziger ’25 of Rosendale, Missouri, waves to onlookers in the parade of the 94th Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival on Saturday, May 24, in Pineville, Kentucky. The Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival is Kentucky’s second-oldest festival.
Lindsey Wilson College representative Sophia Hunziger ’25 of Rosendale, Missouri, waves to onlookers in the parade of the 94th Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival on Saturday, May 24, in Pineville, Kentucky. The Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival is Kentucky’s second-oldest festival.
Lindsey Wilson College representative Sophia Hunziger ’25 of Rosendale, Missouri, performs her curtsy during the queen’s coronation ceremony, held Saturday, May 24, at Laurel Cove Amphitheater in Pine Mountain State Resort Park, Kentucky’s oldest state park. The Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival is Kentucky’s second-oldest festival.
Lindsey Wilson College is a vibrant liberal arts college in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson — which will become Lindsey Wilson University on July 1 — has an enrollment of more than 4,000 students, and the college offers 28 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The college’s 28 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.
(Duane Bonifer – Lindsey Wilson College)