The 2014 Mizzou Homecoming Queen Allison Schnitker is best described by her friend and Homecoming royalty court pair Bobby Hofman as “passionate, talkative and loving.”
Schnitker, a strategic communications major, was sponsored for Homecoming royalty by Mizzou Alternative Breaks, where she is currently director of marketing. She is also a member of Kappa Alpha Theta fraternity and Omicron Delta Kappa, a Tap Day society.
Schnitker described her passions in two words that she summed up as cheesy, but true: “helping others.”
“I think oftentimes, people forget the impact they can have on others’ lives,” Schnitker said. “I think that was kind of even a reminder to me with the whole Homecoming experience. It’s a constant reminder that we can touch other people’s lives and make them better, be a positive force in the world.”
Schnitker said she was honored to have even been nominated, so she went into the selection process to have fun. The process entails an application, which Schnitker said she almost didn’t even do, and two rounds of interviews.
“I was myself,” she said. “I answered the questions as I saw best and had fun with it.”
Being herself was enough for Schnitker to be crowned MU’s Homecoming Queen on Faurot Field during the Oct. 25 football game.
“It was a very, very surreal moment,” she said, “There are so many incredible people on this campus and this university means so much to me. I’ve been born and raised a Tiger, so being able to be crowned was one of the biggest honors that I ever could have imagined.”
Being crowned was most special for Schnitker, she said, because of the people she shared the experience with, such as Hofman and Theresa Mullineaux, last year’s Homecoming queen who coincidentally met Schnitker on her first MAB trip.
In spring 2013, Schnitker went to Aurora, Colorado for a children’s health trip. On this trip, Mullineaux was her site leader and Hofman was a participant.
“Since then, I’ve seen our friendship flourish and I count myself blessed to be friends with such an unbelievable leader,” Hofman said. “I know I’m the luckiest guy on royalty; I got to walk with the queen!”
Since her first MAB trip, Schnitker led another to Greenville, South Carolina, and currently supervises 12 other trips.
Schnitker touted Homecoming as her favorite MU tradition, and said she is grateful for the experiences she’s had during her four years at the university.
“I think that one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from Mizzou would be to take advantage of the different opportunities that present themselves in life,” Schnitker said. “To not be afraid to be yourself, and also in the sense of college to find out who you are. To never stop learning and growing, because every person you meet and every experience you have shapes who you are.”
Schnitker said MU has taught her to go after every opportunity wholeheartedly, and she will bring her passion for service into whatever field she pursues.
“I want to love life,” Schnitker said. “I want to love what I do. Anything that would give me the opportunity to travel and give back to the world would be ideal for me. If I can tie my love for communication in to making a difference in other people’s lives, I think that would be the best possible scenario for the future.”
