Eagle Scout and Queens Presidential Scholar Raven Horneman ’30 is bringing her trailblazing leadership and love for storytelling to campus as a double major in creative writing and business.
For Charlotte native Raven Horneman ‘30, true leadership is built through hands-on service, resilience, and a deep commitment to building community. An International Baccalaureate graduate of East Mecklenburg High School, Horneman has always believed in the importance of helping those around her, whether by co-founding her high school’s American Sign Language club or actively volunteering on her church’s production team.
In 2019, she also joined Scouting America (formerly the Boy Scouts of America), as a pioneer in Troop 233, one of Charlotte’s largest all-female troops. There, she embraced the outdoors, learned important life skills, and took on the responsibility of serving as a mentor for younger girls.
Navigating the early days in her troop meant overcoming some challenges and prejudices within the broader scouting community. Horneman and her peers persevered and, by June 2025, she achieved the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout.
“Women have established themselves as important figures in the scouting community,” Horneman said. “We are now very much a foundational point in scouting.”
Today, her leadership spans multiple roles serving as vice chief of inductions for the Order of the Arrow, Scouting’s Honor Society, while holding leadership positions in two Venturing Crews. She recently completed her fourth year as a camp staff member at BSA Camp Grimes.
It was at a Scout meeting that Horneman learned of her acceptance to Queens University as a Presidential Scholar. “It was phenomenal and I really felt that it was an affirming moment that I was meant to be a Royal,” Horneman said.
Horneman’s commitment to serving the community also directly feeds her second great passion: creative writing. To her, crafting stories is more than an artistic outlet – it is a tool for human connection.
Horneman realized the power of storytelling during a 2025 mission trip to Spain, where she volunteered at an English language camp for Ukrainian refugees. Standing before a group of young people who had fled war and lost their homes, Horneman felt the daunting weight of trying to connect with them.
As she shared her personal testimony, the young audience listened intently.
“I have never seen a group of kids so engaged,” Horneman said. “The ability of words to connect people with such different backgrounds just absolutely astounded me. I knew then it was in my future to be a writer.”
At Queens, Horneman plans to double major in creative writing and business, with goals to launch new campus initiatives, like an Ultimate Frisbee club on the quad. She also wants to dive deeper into short story fiction inspired by classic authors such as Edgar Allan Poe.
“I very much believe there’s a reason that I’m going to Queens,” Horneman says. “I want to inspire people when I can and make their lives better in some way, shape, or form.”