Meet Mister and Miss Prairie View A&M University (2026-2027): Landon Cade Mumphrey and Raniyah Enjoli Edwards

HBCU Kings and Queens carry more than a title. They carry the culture, the history, and the pride of their entire campus every time they step onto the yard. That is why we at Watch The Yard are launching a new series dedicated to introducing you to the leaders wearing the crown this year, continuing with Prairie View A&M University.

The 44th Mister Prairie View A&M University Landon Cade Mumphrey is a senior Business Management major from Dallas, Texas, and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., initiated in Spring 2026 through the Eta Gamma Chapter. Miss Prairie View A&M University Raniyah Enjoli Edwards is a senior Political Science major with a minor in Dance from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Together, Mumphrey (@l.aando.n) and Edwards (@enjolisworld) represent Prairie View’s Panther Nation during the university’s sesquicentennial celebration.

Watch The Yard put out an open call to HBCU Kings and Queens across the country and we were able to interview Mumphrey and Edwards about their reign. Read our interview with them:

What motivated you to run for King of your school? Tell us what you campaigned on and what you set out to accomplish once you were crowned.

Landon Cade Mumphrey: “I was motivated to become Mister Prairie View truly because of the Impact. Originally, when I was looking for a university to attend, I was looking for some place that felt like home. Coming from a predominantly white institution and being able to create a substantial impact, I wanted to bring that to Prairie View. When I was researching, I saw the role of Mister Prairie View, and God showed me that this was the reason I needed to attend Prairie View. As I continued my journey through Prairie View, running various campaigns, being mentored, and working on projects with previous Mister’s, I’ve realized that this title exudes inspiration, empowerment, and representation. Being Mister Prairie View is an incomprehensible task to better our community to live up to the kings that came before you, while creating your own legacy. Being Mister Prairie View is about enabling the student body to go out and be the physical embodiment of the impact Prairie View has had on them. Throughout my years here, these experiences have molded me into the man I am today. I’ve been able to talk to so many bright-minded individuals and gain knowledge on their experiences here and how I can make that experience better, and that’s what this role is for. As the sole male representation of this campus, it’s imperative that I understand what the men of this campus need and how I can provide that to ensure that our motto is embodied by each student, because all of the students are excellence in its highest form. My Campaign is Becoming Him, which was inspired by the television network of Disney +. Each day, I had a different television episode that focused on 5 aspects of Men’s Health. Mental, Physical, Spiritual, Emotional, and Sexual health, which are all things that create a Productive Man, because Prairie Produces Productive People. I chose Men’s Health because I noticed that it was one thing that we lacked attention to, not only on our campus but within our community. Oftentimes, while growing up, young black men were shunned for being emotional, to avoid sexual topics, pushed religion on, and then run away from it, and had physicality as a punishment for bad behavior and mental health is seen as a crutch within the black community and seen as a weakness than something young black men struggle with on the daily basis, especially within the current day. During my reign, I plan on implementing structure and documentation for the Mister Prairie View Position. Including starting new legacy programs, implementing game day structure and processes, pushing the standard of a Prairie View Man, and aligning with our PVAMU 2035: Journey to Eminence Strategic Plan, specifically Priority 1:2 Invest in Prairie View Students. I aim for my reign to stand for inspiration and perseverance. Not only does it inspire the next generation of student leaders, but it also inspires current student leaders to push past their limits and use their creativity to inspire and create change. To also persevere through the hardest challenges, no matter what is going on.”

What do you love most about your school, and what would you want someone who has never set foot on your campus to understand about what makes it special?

Landon Cade Mumphrey: “What I love most about Prairie View A&M University is that it gave me permission to become fully who I am. Prairie View was never part of my original plan. When I graduated from high school, I did not really want to go to college. I wanted to go directly into performing arts, and entertainment. I had opportunities to run track and play football at other schools, but that just wasn’t where my heart was. Then my dad gave me an ultimatum to go to college or the military and I knew I was not going to the military. My aunt, and my older sister had all talked to me about Prairie View, so I finally agreed to visit. Before Prairie View, I had spent much of my education in predominantly white spaces. I rarely saw myself reflected in my classmates, and there were parts of myself like my creativity, my personality, the way I expressed myself, even parts of my Blackness that oftentimes, if not all, felt misunderstood, frowned upon, or like they needed to be toned down. Then I came to The Hill. For the first time, the things I had once felt I needed to explain were understood. The things I had been told were ‘too much’ were celebrated. I saw students who looked like me excelling academically, creating businesses, leading organizations, making art, advocating for their communities, and becoming leaders. Prairie View challenged me to discover how much more of myself could I become. And that feeling is embedded in the physical traditions of this campus. The Prairie View experience is second to none. For example, Hump Day at noon on a Wednesday. For that one hour, Holland and Gaines Field becomes the heartbeat of campus. The music is playing, organizations are out, students are dancing, laughing, networking, and taking a break from everything happening in our lives. Hump Day might look like a social gathering from the outside, but when you are a Panther, you understand that it is one of those moments when the entire university feels connected. Another tradition we have is not walking across the grass. At Prairie View, even the ground beneath us has meaning. This university sits on land that was once the Alta Vista Plantation, where enslaved Black men and women were enslaved and refused an education. Today, on those same grounds, Black students are developing groundbreaking technology, conducting research, creating businesses, earning degrees, and preparing to challenge the world. There is something incredibly powerful about that transformation. That history is one of the things I love most about Prairie View. This university has never existed simply to educate Black students. Prairie View has repeatedly prepared Black students to challenge systems that were not designed for us. Even our history with voting rights reflects that. Prairie View students had to fight for their ability to register and vote in the community where they lived and attended school, and that transcended universities across America to follow in our footsteps. That history reminds me that leadership at Prairie View has never been ceremonial. We have always understood that sometimes you have to enter spaces where you are not valued, seen, or even wanted and create change anyway. I feel that responsibility personally as The 44th Mister Prairie View A&M University. The Mister Prairie View A&M University Scholarship Pageant was formally established in 1987, when the first annual pageant was held to determine who would be worthy of representing the men of Prairie View and carrying the distinction of the ‘Lord of Pantherland.’ Originally, Mister Prairie View served in a role that included escorting Miss Prairie View while also representing and honoring the men of the university. In 1988, the pageant received formal recognition from the Office of Student Activities, elevating Mister Prairie View A&M University to a level of recognition alongside Miss Prairie View A&M University. That moment was also significant because it represented growing acceptance and respect for the concept of collegiate male pageantry at a time when that type of platform for Black men was uncommon. By the 1990s, the Mister Prairie View A&M University Scholarship Pageant had grown beyond the university and received widespread recognition for its celebration of Black male leadership, scholarship, talent, and achievement. Its influence extended nationally, and in 1991, the Mister Prairie View A&M University Scholarship Pageant served as an impetus for the creation of the Mr. Collegiate African American Pageant, creating another platform specifically designed to recognize and celebrate Black college men. So when I represent Prairie View today, I understand that I am not simply wearing a title. I am continuing a legacy that began in 1987 and helped change how Black collegiate men could be represented, celebrated, and elevated. The men before me helped establish a platform at a time when the very idea of celebrating Black men through collegiate pageantry was still fighting for recognition. Being The 44th Mister Prairie View A&M University means carrying that history forward while also understanding that my responsibility is to expand what this title can mean for the men and students who come after me. Prairie View has also allowed me to explore every part of myself. My freshman year, I helped create Thee Influence, an organization where students could learn photography, event hosting, social media, marketing, modeling, acting, and other creative disciplines. I have developed my entrepreneurial skills through Leaders Innovating for Tomorrow and the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. I have participated in advocacy through Texas Rising. And through the Eta Gamma Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, I have had the opportunity to serve communities, educate students, and advance initiatives larger than myself. I did not have to choose between being creative, entrepreneurial, socially conscious, involved, or a leader. Prairie View gave me room to discover that all of those things could exist in the same person. And then there are our alumni. Prairie View alumni do not simply graduate and disappear. They come back. They mentor. They recruit. They give. They open doors. They tell our stories. They pour into students because someone once poured into them. I know that personally because alumni are part of the reason I ever stepped foot on this campus. Before I understood what an HBCU could do for me, they showed me. They allowed me to see what I could become as a Black student in America before I was able to see it for myself. That is what I would want someone who has never been to Prairie View to understand. Prairie View is not special simply because of ‘the culture’ or ‘the people.’ It is special because our history is alive here. You feel it when you stand on The Hill. And eventually, you realize that attending Prairie View comes with a responsibility: somebody before you fought to make it possible for you to be here, so what are you going to make possible for the person coming behind you? I fell in love with Prairie View because it showed me a version of myself I had never been able to see before.”

How has your school molded you into the person you are today? Take us to a specific moment, person, or experience on your campus that changed you.

Raniyah Enjoli Edwards: “When I first arrived at Prairie View, I had no familial ties, no real guide to campus, just faith and a little curiosity that opened doors for me. First-generation college student from an urban city 1000 miles away, lots of ambition, in a completely foreign land. I was scared, no doubt, but my faith was greater than any fear I could think of. In no time, I started excelling in school, joining organizations based on my interests, and opportunities started to present themselves. The first time I saw myself outside of who I was raised to be and what I was taught to think was when I got the opportunity, my first year, to travel abroad to Mexico. On that service learning trip, I was immersed in a world much bigger than myself. I saw myself not only as a global citizen but as a global leader. I felt the responsibility that you gain going to an HBCU, that social responsibility, that an opportunity is truly never yours, they are simply a platform to give back to your community. From there, I got my first internship at the Wisconsin State Capitol. I repeated what I had done after my study abroad. In my sophomore year, my university sent me to Washington, D.C., to study and work for a semester, where I worked at the U.S. Capitol. It seemed that the greater the opportunity, the more I found myself hosting coffee chats, sharing resources, and ultimately lifting as I climbed. That philosophy carried me into being a future Nobel Laureate scholar in Sweden to now my reign as the 94th Miss Prairie View A&M University. A guiding principle that I pray impacts everyone who engages with me and my platform, The Promised Land.”

What does it mean to you to hold this title at an HBCU specifically, and what do you hope students take away from your reign long after you graduate?

Raniyah Enjoli Edwards: “With great privilege comes great responsibility. What it means to be the 94th Miss Prairie View A&M University during the university’s sesquicentennial celebration is nothing short of legacy, what it means to stand in one, and what it means to build one. I hope that what students take away from my reign is that what God has promised you no man can take away. I pray that students know there is no ‘right’ way to walk into purpose, but that if they match their faith with their work, they can achieve anything they want. But ultimately, I hope my peers know how precious time is and that they be intentional about how they steward it. I know it’s an honor to wear this crown that only 93 women have worn before me, and I pray I plant seeds that the next 94 can reap. My platform, The Promised Land: Reaffirm, Reclaim, and Rise, is all about stepping into the legacy set before us by 8 unknown students 150 years ago and having the courage to build what the next 150 years will bring through the actions we choose to take today. While this legacy is mine, I know my peers will feel pride in creating their own as we contribute to The Prairie View Standard.”

We at Watch The Yard would like to commend Landon Cade Mumphrey and Raniyah Enjoli Edwards for the way they are already leading with heart at Prairie View A&M University. Here’s to a reign built on legacy, purpose, and pride in the Panther. Congratulations, Mister and Miss Prairie View A&M University. We wish you a successful and impactful reign.

(Photo Credit: @blairrolling, @Dh4ynes, @herxera_visuals, @capturedbyomo, @altierproductions, @koleyfx, @kaylavisuals_, @kt.shotit)