4B
HOMECOMING
KANSAN.COM
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Day in the Life Homecoming Steering Committee director
HANNA HAYDEN
@nirvhanna_
An old joke goes that taking on anything for seven days makes one weak. For Caleb Johnson, director of the KU Homecoming Steering Committee, however, it takes closer to seven months to make one week: Homecoming.
"A lot of people think homecoming is just this one week of the year," said Johnson, a senior from Basehor. "But what they don't realize is that the director and committee put in a lot of hard work going into making this happen ... I have never had an experience through a university organization that could have prepared me for this."
Jacey Krehbiel, an adviser to the Steering Committee, said Johnson fits the bill for the type of leader that the committee looks for.
"We are always looking for students who are dedicated to their work and will put everything they have into this week to create the best possible experience for the rest of the student population," she said.
Judging from his drive, ambition and dedication to the position. Johnson was the right choice, Krehbiel said.
A day in the life of planning the largest week at the University begins by fielding emails, followed by playing phone tag and attending at least one meeting concerning Homecoming functions.
Johnson said his hectic schedule is not the normal director's workload — in addition to directing Homecoming, he is also an active member of his fraternity, a committee member for KU Dance Marathon and an engineering major.
As the Homecoming game against Oklahoma draws closer, Johnson has begun attending daily meetings with club coordinators and campus advisers in addition to the Steering Committee's weekly meeting and office hours.
Johnson said his secret to keeping a cool head comes from having a perfectionist streak and managing expectations and responsibilities from the start.
"Hypothetically, say we appoint the committee the third week of February — we will have our very first meeting the fourth week," he said.
It's a taxing, time-consuming undertaking, but Johnson said his dedication to ensuring the biggest campus celebration of the year goes smoothly drives
him.
"To be able to see all the events take place and see it all come together, this time of year is what really motivates me," Johnson said.
Even something as seemingly simple as choosing the theme takes a tremendous amount of thought and consideration. Johnson said that while the committee can float up to 50 potential theme ideas during the first meeting, this year's theme was actually one of the first proposed.
"We pick up a legal pad, and people just start shouting out ideas," he said. "It wasn't until we narrowed them all down to the final two or three that we realized 'Ghosts of Jayhawks Past' was one of the original suggestions."
Growing up in the Kansas City area meant that Johnson fell in love with the University's Homecoming season long before ever setting foot on the campus. He recalls looking forward to the parade in particular when he was younger
— and found himself in the parade director's shoes as parade chair last year.
While Johnson said he's excited for all the events planned this week, he said he will always be particularly partial to
"This is my favorite time of year; it always has been," he said. "I always loved the classic Homecoming parade."
the parade.
Fond memories of all things fall, football and KU stuck with him enough to inspire Johnson to get involved with the steering process as early as his first year at KU.
"As a kid, you think it's awesome," he said. "But then as a student, you get to be on the inside of everything [and] participate in everything, which is really what drew me into this whole committee process."
This year's Homecoming celebration isn't only devoted to traditional events, however. The event that Johnson anticipates the most is new to the University.
After researching other universities' homecoming celebrations for inspiration on how to make the University's even better, Johnson saw how often other schools' National Pan-Hellenic Councils had a role.
The National Pan-Hellenic Council is the collaborative organization of historically African-American fraternities and sororities. The University has two fraternities and three sororities on the council.
ALEX ROBINSON/KANSAN
Caleb Johnson is head of the steering committee in charge of Homecoming this year at KU.
"We approached our University's chapter about joining the step show during Homecoming week, and they came back at us with the suggestion of a stroll-off" he said.
Unfamiliar with a stroll-off?
So was Johnson.
"Strolling is a representation of the members of the organization, showing off dance moves that exhibit the traditional roots of their organization," he said. "There's a whole production aspect to it, with music and costumes and everything."
"It'll be an awesome event," he added. "We're very excited. We're anticipating it to sell out."
The stroll-off is not the only unique event this year; with the inclusion of residence halls, campus participation is more widespread. Johnson said he hoped to have student life be more involved, and he brainstormed with his committee to think of unique ideas to do so.
"My personal goal when I became director — and, by extension, my committee's goal
— was that we find ways to get more students and organizations involved," he said. "One of our big things that we noticed was the residence halls. We thought Daisy Hill was the perfect place where we could at least try to host some sort of event."
He organized a banner-decorating competition between the different dorm floors on Tuesday night and said he hopes the residence halls remain active participants in the years to come.
Seven months, 14 events, and countless cups of coffee later, Johnson can reflect on his time as director. While he said he's eager to graduate in May, Johnson said he would "absolutely" take on the role of director again and said he cannot wait for everyone to enjoy the celebration of "all things KU" this week.
Edited by Maddy Mikinski
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