“I honestly didn’t believe it was a reality,” San Diego State homecoming king 2012 Tom Rivera said.

He took a deep breath and recounted his feelings as his name was called in front of thousands of people at Qualcomm Stadium on Saturday.

The Vice President of External Affairs for Associated Students, Rivera is a SDSU success story.

Rivera has had a very well-rounded college career since he came to SDSU in 2009.

“I’ve taken advantage of Greek life, studying abroad, school government and tons of things that came together,” Rivera said.

Rivera was the president of Phi Gamma Delta last year and has held numerous other leadership roles within the College of Arts and Letters.

Rivera doesn’t think the homecoming committee could have selected a better homecoming queen than Channelle McNutt.

“Channelle and I have been a duo ever since freshman year,” Rivera said.

Rivera said the two met during his first year of college and have worked closely through the College of Arts and Letters. Both McNutt and Rivera have received Triple “A” Awards and now serve on the A.S. Executive Board together.

Each year, the homecoming king and queen sponsor a service project to better the community. Rivera said he and McNutt are already brainstorming ideas and will begin their project after the November election.

“It’s a great honor to be recognized this way and to cap off my college career as homecoming king,” Rivera said. “I want to say thanks to the community and the university … I’m a much stronger person now than I was because of this school.”