The process for selecting the 103rd Mizzou Homecoming king and queen is underway.
The Top 30 candidates, 15 for king and 15 for queen, were announced on the Mizzou Homecoming Facebook and Twitter accounts Sept. 23. The crowning of king and queen will take place Oct. 25.
“I think the Top 30 candidates represent our student body well and are sponsored by a wide variety of campus organizations,” Aly Friend, coordinator of student programs for the Mizzou Alumni Association, said in an email.
Friend said the selection of Mizzou Homecoming Royalty is a multi-step process and each step in the process is evaluated by a different set of judges.
Senior Jessica Morrow, director of the Traditions Committee, which runs the selection process, said the judges are MU faculty from various departments to ensure the selection is unbiased.
The road to royalty starts when students are nominated by organizations they are involved in. Then, applicants fill out a paper application.
Friend said that all of the applicants received a first-round interview.
“After first-round interviews (are) completed, the paper score and interview score are taken into account, and the number of candidates is cut to fifteen queen candidates and fifteen king candidates,” she said.
Morrow said the Top 30 candidates then receive second-round interviews.
The Top 10 candidates, five for king and five for queen, were announced Tuesday morning on social media.
These 10 individuals will participate in all Homecoming activities, including the Day of Service, blood drive and Decorate The District, before the king and queen are crowned at halftime of the Homecoming football game.
The candidates for Mizzou Homecoming King are Ethan Colbert (Delta Chi), Sam Dicke (Alumni Association Student Board), Bobby Hofman (AASB), Hai Kim (Mizzou Wishmakers) and Charlie Koors (Union Ambassadors).
The candidates for Mizzou Homecoming Queen are Jamie Beard (Chi Omega), Julia Bush (Mortar Board), Emily Donaldson (Kappa Delta), Kelsey Haberberger (Kappa Kappa Gamma) and Allison Schnitker (Mizzou Alternative Breaks).
Morrow said she enjoys getting to know the candidates and their stories.
“It’s really amazing to spend time with them and feed off of their awesome leadership,” she said.
Students selected as part of the Top 30 and Top 10 said it was a meaningful experience to be nominated.
“When your chapter has dozens of eligible people that could have been nominated, it’s very humbling,” said Top 10 Ethan Colbert, who is sponsored by Delta Chi.
Colbert said there isn’t a person he doesn’t know on the list, because they’ve done so much on campus.
“It’s a lot of my friends that are interviewing with me,” said Top 30 candidate Emily Blocker, who was sponsored by Alpha Delta Pi. “It’s people that I’ve been in leadership positions, clubs and organizations with.”
For Morrow, royalty selection is a chance to honor students who have been leaders at MU.
“The importance of the tradition is to honor those people who have put so much time and effort in their time here at Mizzou, to honor them for their hard work,” she said. “It’s their time to be recognized as an outstanding Mizzou senior.”
Top 30 candidate Clinton Cannon, who was sponsored by New Student Programs, said he expects this year’s Homecoming to be one of the most memorable events of his time at MU.
“Homecoming is a huge tradition at MU and I don’t think there is a student on this campus that would say that it wasn’t one of their favorite traditions,” he said. “So being a part of this process, even just as a student or as someone that’s nominated for homecoming king, is a wonderful experience. And it’s something that I know a lot of us, once we graduate, will look back on and really reflect positively on.”
